The Unchosen One
by Bra1n1ac
Summary: When the divines decide against giving their blessings to a chosen one, and allowing their new champions the freedom to fail, anyone might become a hero. - Katie; a large, bean-shaped nord raised by redguards is forced to leave home after a dragon attack, and is ambushed on the way into Skyrim, but she couldn't be the hero that's most needed... could she?
1. Chapter 1: Book and Bottle

Hail. This is a tale bizarre, with wars and magic spells;  
a tale that's unlike any in the world where Skyrim dwells.  
The greatest tale in all the land, that's ever been told yet,  
about the greatest maiden, who has faced the greatest threat.

Some might laugh at the great maid, of whom this story spoke,  
but that is not the purpose here, for she is not a joke.  
Neither is her story, so I beg you will not err.  
Let no one take insult from it, and least of all, not her.

Of all the mortals in this world, 'tis her I most respect,  
For she has qualities that many others don't detect.  
She is a hero, good and true, and of the greatest sort,  
for she wanted something truly, and by her own choice, fell short.

For others she has given and for others she has lost,  
and rarely stopped to worry over what it all would cost.  
She had a thing she valued most; a thing that brought her glee,  
and gave it up for those she loved, for that is charity.

This tale, perhaps, when it begins, will seem like deja vu.  
It may seem like something else that happened once to you.  
Yet, as it continues on, you'll see that, without fail,  
this story has become a very different kind of tale.

So if a fate still guides this world; this land under the sun,  
and if the rules of destiny restrict what can be done,  
then this tale, of which I speak, can't actually unfold,  
yet it's a tale that must exist; a tale that must be told.

* * *

Skyrim: The Unchosen One

Chapter 1: Book and Bottle

* * *

This tale truly begins in a place beyond places, but since no words exist in that place, few can be used to describe it, and all in negative terms. It was not a land, nor an ocean, nor was it air or fire, or a desert, or a volcano. It was, in a sense, not anything at all, yet someone was there; more that one someone, in fact. Those who hear this story must, I fear, forgive such poor descriptions as these, but in any case, it is not with those surroundings that the story is concerned, but with the beings, who, for the moment, were holding conference there.

Those beings were nine in number, and were, at least, not so difficult to describe as the place where they had chosen to speak. Three resembled men, with long hair and beards. One was like them, but without a mustache. The fifth of their group was taller than the first four, but his hair was much shorter, and his beard little more than a goatee, making him seem, in some ways, smaller. The sixth was a woman with short hair, covered, in any case, by a reverent hood. The next two were also women; one with thick hair that spread out over her shoulders and back, and one whose beautiful hair was more conventional, smooth and unobtrusive. Still, they were all normal-looking by comparison to their leader; a mighty, golden dragon who spoke to his fellows sadly.

"Tragedies are no new thing, to us, or to the world of men and mer." the dragon said sadly, "As we always do in such circumstances, however, something must be done."

"This is to do with that petty usurper, I suppose." the tall man with the goatee observed, at which point the dragon merely nodded, tilting his head slightly before he continued.

"His actions cannot be ignored. Too many are dying. I asked for your help, to bring forth a new chosen one; that one mortal in a billion who can face the odds and succeed; tear down kings, build up empires, and crush evil. This method has often done much good in the past, and I feel..."

However, for the first time in a thousand years, a voice from among that group spoke up, interrupting their leader with a calm determination that had rarely asserted itself so strongly.

"No."

All eyes turned to the source of that voice; the being who resembled a man with a beard, but no mustache. However, his own eyes were not fixed on the dragon at all, and this was not out of fear, but because the person who had spoken was deep in thought, looking downward into the emptiness as he spoke.

"Julianos..." the dragon remarked, "You have some thoughts on this subject?"

"I cannot reconcile it anymore." Julianos said after spending a few more seconds in thought, "This business of choosing a mortal to do the work of saving the world... Is there no alternative?"

"Why should we seek one?" the dragon asked, "Has it not been a success in the past?"

"The success or failure of this method is not in question." Julianos replied, "What concerns me is the method itself. When we make our choice, the mortal saves their world, and all is preserved, but in exchange, that mortal's fate slips beyond their control. Their freedom is lost."

"A mortal living under our blessings has greater control over their fate, not less." the dragon replied, "They have every chance that they would have had without them, and more besides..."

"There is one chance they lack." Julianos pointed out at once, however, having thought the matter through thoroughly, "They lack the chance to fail, and to be imperfect; to make mistakes and differ from our plan. They can no longer choose a less than dynamic life. Do you not see the problem with this? Should we sacrifice a mortal's life in this way, to save the world?"

"Are you suggesting to me that my blessings should go to someone other than the chosen one?" the woman with the thick hair, whose name was Dibella, asked, "Why would the chosen one not want the blessings of beauty?"

"I can think of a hundred reasons." Julianos replied without skipping a beat, however, "Suppose they have been tortured by someone who was beautiful, and come to see beauty as ugliness? They might be in love with someone who values their character, and would merely be distracted by beauty. They might fear that beauty would attract the attention of lustful adulterers... There are a host of reasons for not desiring beauty."

"Fascinating" one of the long-bearded men replied, "I have always considered our blessings to be a mercy, and yet, are you implying that they might be a curse as well?"

"I am implying that our blessings should not be so heavy-handed, Stendarr." Julianos explained, "Perhaps we could merely give a smaller gift to each of a dozen people, and allow them the chance to overcome the odds, or to fail in their own way. I would consider that a far wiser course."

Dibella looked rather upset over having been rebutted so quickly and easily, but she didn't attempt to reply again, merely looking down into the nothingness, as though making some plans of her own. That, however, was when the dragon spoke again, wearing an amused smile on his face, for the first time in centuries.

"Your idea has creativity and merit, Julianos, but most importantly, there is time to set it in motion, and still resort to the old plan, should it fail. You will have my cooperation in this."

Julianos was relieved that his words had been so well-received, as one after another, his companions began offering their agreement; the strongest support coming from Talos and Zenithar. Still, he knew that there were risks in such a course of action. After all, according to the old plan, one person had been given the blessing of victory, and was given a chance to succeed; a chance that usually; no one had. If his idea worked out, then even the nine of them wouldn't know to whom their blessing had gone, which meant that the greatest warriors might find themselves on the end of a pike. On the other hand, it also meant that anyone might be a hero... even the grocer down the street...

* * *

The atmosphere in the alehouse known as the Slow Sabrecat was different, at different times of the day. Sometimes, things were slow. Sometimes its inhabitants were loud, and engaged in shouting, cheering or singing. However, in the evening at around six o'clock, the atmosphere was usually intermittent; alternating between raucous cheering and dead silence, because that was when Katie got off work.

Loud cheers erupted once again as Katie dropped the fork back onto the plate, looking across the table at her challenger with a calm smile. Half a leg of goat and a small pile of lettuce was still sitting on the tall, broad man's plate, but he looked like he was ready to hurl. On Katie's plate, a bone and a fork were all that was left. At last, the warrior stuck one more piece of lettuce into his mouth and nearly fell over. Clearly, he'd been unprepared for the challenge.

Katie had gotten to her feet slowly a few moments later, stepping over to the half-conscious warrior, who'd managed to eat himself into a stupor that night, and giving everyone there a chance to get another good look at her, before she threw on her furs.

Katie was always an impressive sight, but especially when she was standing, because it was only then that one got any sort of real impression of the sheer size of the woman. Not only was she almost a head taller than most of the men in town, but she was also more than twice as broad, and probably weighed about three times as much as most men her age. She wasn't round, exactly. Her body shape was a little harder to describe than that. She looked more like a large, pink coffee bean, which had sprouted arms, legs and a head, and started walking around. Her unique size and shape had its drawbacks, of course, but as she'd just demonstrated that night, it also had its advantages. In other places, by other people, she took criticisms, but in that alehouse, after her work shift ended, Katie was the eighth wonder of the world. She loved it all.

Instead of immediately leaving like she usually did, she leaned over a little and put one hand on the head of her defeated opponent, giving him a few short pats, as though to inform him that it was alright. However, the moment her hand touched him, he sat bolt upright, looking halfway between sickness and alarm.

"I came all the way from Dragonstar for this challenge." the well-built, redguard warrior hissed at her angrily, "Don't patronize me. Just tell me; was I close? Did I almost win?"

Katie's smile started to fade when the poor man said that, because she could only shake her head sadly. She could comfort a defeated man, but not a defeated ego.

The redguard cursed angrily and turned back away from her, putting his face in his hands.

"I thought I could win something! Just once, I thought I could be the best at something!" the man choked out angrily.

"And you picked this? Just trying to eat more than me in one sitting?" Katie asked, feeling genuinely surprised, although her opponent just shook his head angrily.

"You know what I mean. I mean, you must know what it's like; wanting to shine; to be the best of the best. You've got to have dreams, right? I mean, that must be how you got this good, right?"

However, once again, Katie didn't have much in the way of comfort to offer her opponent.

"Sorry." she just said, "I've got a nice home, food, drink, good friends, and a job that doesn't change over time. That's just about all I want. I never put any effort into... Well, into being able to outdo people at the dinner table. It just kind of happened one night as a sort of game, and soon, people started showing up the challenge me, and... Well, it wasn't on purpose anyway."

The redguard sniffed, as though he absolutely couldn't believe that claim, but it wasn't until a few moments later that he explained why.

"You're a nord, Katie. Nords never want to live like that. You struggle against your fate. You're fighters; warriors. I'm sure you know a little about fighting yourself. Every nord wants to fight on some level."

However, Katie just shook her head again calmly, a moment later, and asked, "You're not trying to challenge me to a fight, are you?"

"No." the redguard replied, "I'm saying that you must know what it's like to want a life of adventure and combat."

"No." Katie responded almost immediately, however, her smile not breaking for a moment as she spoke, "You're wrong. I don't even know what it's like to want that. That's the furthest thing from what I want. You may not care. You may not believe me, but it doesn't really matter. All I want in the world is for things to keep going exactly the way they are right now."

Then, without another word, Katie had pulled open the front door of the Slow Sabrecat, and turning sideways a little, had left through it, closing it behind her as a song began in one corner of the alehouse. Part of her wanted to stay behind for a few more minutes and sing along, but she was starting to feel a little tired, and it looked like it was going to be a cold night. As quickly as she could go, Katie found herself heading towards home, where some war, soft furs and her cheap cot would be waiting.

* * *

The next morning, it was almost five by the time Katie woke up, and it wasn't the town bell that woke her, or even the light, coming in through the windows of her room, but rather, the smell of breakfast.

It had been a particularly cold night, and Katie had fallen asleep in her fur boots and coat, as well as under the three warm furs that she used for blankets, so she was feeling pretty warm as she got to her feet and stretched. As cold as the night before had been, that morning was a little bit warmer, so she slid the large, brown fur coat off, though she kept her boots on. She probably should have been thinking about the redguard she'd beaten the night before; the very sad warrior, who'd seemed so adamant about being the best at something. She probably should have gone looking for him, in the hopes of finding some way to comfort the poor fellow, but that morning, she was still a little distracted by the feeling of victory and the comforting safety of home. It never occurred to her to worry about the warrior. In fact, she'd never even heard his name. He'd been strange in that respect. Before the meal had begun, he'd just remarked "I'll tell you who I am when you lose, so you'll always remember."

For the moment, however, Katie was drawn by the smell of breakfast, and stepped into the kitchen slowly, looking around for any sign of her parents. Her mother was sitting at the table, having almost finished with her own first meal of the day, and some fish were sitting in an ice pail near one side of the room, indicating what would be prepared for the second. The whole kitchen was filled with the wonderful aroma of warm bread and grilled leek.

Katie's mother was a very different sort of person from Katie herself; largely because she was an adopted child. She was an older woman; a redguard in her upper fifties or so; not quite old enough for many gray hairs, but just enough that the wrinkles on her face and wrists had begun to tell the story of her many happy years in that village. Her name was Sinia, and she was a former huntress and woodsman, who still had much of her old talent for the job, but was gradually losing the strength that was so important for driving a spear through a sabrecat's heart. There were times when that made her daughter feel sorry for her, but she clearly didn't feel sorry for herself. Sinia was happy living in Karohad.

"Hey, mom." Katie remarked happily, taking a seat quickly at her side of the table, and digging into the plate that had been set for her, "Did Dad leave yet?"

"He's still trying to find his tongs." Sinia replied with a half-sad shake of her head, "I keep warning him to take better care of his things, especially when it's market day."

Sure enough, however, Katie's father; a tall, gray-haired redguard named Jeleen emerged into the kitchen only a few seconds later; before his daughter could even finish the plate in front of her.

"Found them!" he announced triumphantly, waving the steel tongs in the air as he charged out of the main bedroom, looking relieved, then, seeing that his daughter was awake, he gave her a short greeting as well.

Any other day, Jeleen would have let Katie work the forge with him for a while. It was fun work, if a little dangerous, but one needed to be careful, no matter what one did for a living. Market day, though, was that one day when the two couldn't afford to spend that much time together. Jeleen was going to be taking his wares out to Elinhir in the cart, and that meant that Katie couldn't come along; as always. She had work that would have prevented her going anyway, but for a moment, being left out of something made her feel pretty bad. Even when that something; going to another town, wasn't really something that she wanted to do.

Some friendly banter was practiced in that kitchen, until Jeleen left through the front door, and then that was it. Sinia didn't talk much, except when other people were talking. It just wasn't her forte. That was alright, of course, since it gave her daughter the chance to finish breakfast and start gathering up the dishes. However, that was when she did speak up.

"I know you have work later..."

"Not until about nine." Katie replied, brightening up, "I've got a few hours."

"In that case, let's get some spear training in."

"What?" Katie asked, actually feeling a little uncomfortable, "You mean, right after breakfast?"

"No excuses." her mother said, however, her tone of voice turning a bit cold, "I've seen you chop wood out there. You're stronger than I am, and that means a lot. Let's see what you've learned."

Katie wanted a good reason for refusing, as she often did when it came to their spear matches, but she just couldn't think of one, and anyway, it was her mother. Refusing one's mother isn't an easy thing to do.

* * *

"Any special rules?" Katie asked as she and her mother stepped out to the lumber range; a large series of tree stumps at the edge of the forest, where she and her family had been gathering whatever wood they needed for years. Each of them was already prepared for the training session; holding a tar-tipped spear in one hand and a shield in the other.

"No. No special rules." Sinia replied calmly; almost coldly to her daughter, "Normal rules. Don't get hit in the chest or head, don't drop your weapon, don't hook your weapon, and don't touch the house or any trees. Also, don't lose your footing."

However, although Sinia had implied that there was nothing special about that match, she didn't seem to be taking it easy at all. Almost as soon as the word "footing" had escaped her lips, her spear shot out at her daughter, striking her in the leg. Katie managed to get her footing back and swipe away with her own spear, but it only produced an imperfectly-aimed blow, which glanced harmlessly off her mother's shield. Just like that, the session had begun. However, it wasn't destined to last long.

In one more jab, Katie's mother got under her daughter's defense easily, knocking her over, and burying the tar-tipped point in the younger girl's generous chest. Worse yet, she didn't look like she had any intention of withdrawing it anytime soon.

"You're stronger than me..." Sinia almost whispered as she stared at her daughter in amazement, "You're a lot stronger than me. Why do you always lose this way?"

"It's alright, mom." Katie tried to say, but her mother had moved the tip of the spear up just a little, to position it near her daughter's face.

"It's not alright." Sinia replied angrily, "I don't think you realize how important this is. Nobody in Hammerfell likes the Thalmor regime. Things are even worse in Skyrim. I lived through the war, and I know what things were like. Either you could defend yourself, or you didn't eat. Times were hard, but I survived, because I had the will to train; the will to improve and defend myself and my loved ones."

"Mom..." Katie began again, "That's why I never win. You've got a lot more experience at this than me. Now, maybe, in time..."

"You shouldn't be losing to a person twice your age in melee combat, no matter how skilled they are." Sinia insisted, however, "You're a nord. You're supposed to be built for combat. But you're not, are you?"

"Well..." Katie sighed, resigning herself to that evaluation, as unpleasant as it might have been.

"I've seen you at that bar you work at; before and after work hours, I mean." her mother continued, however, and those words alone brought a shudder to Katie's frame. It was the first time that her mother had even mentioned it.

"I've seen the kind of 'skills' you've been perfecting." Sinia said with the same, cold tone of voice, "You're just being foolish, Katie. None of that means anything."

"When I'm in the Slow Sabrecat, I'm the king of the hill." Katie insisted, finally starting to get angry with her mother's attitude, but Sinia wasn't showing any signs of backing down.

"King? Is that what you think? Do you really think they cheer because they admire you?" Sinia asked furiously, "You amuse them, and that's all. You're a joke to those people."

Just like that, Katie's temper flared up, and she reached up with one hand, seizing her mother's spear, just below the spearhead. Then, with one swift motion of her arms, she pushed it back and away, forcing her mother to back off as well, in order to avoid being pushed over by her daughter's colossal arm strength. However, rather than trying to launch any new attacks, Katie just attached her spear to the hook that hung from the leather strap, which was slung over one of her shoulders for that purpose, slung her shield over the other shoulder, and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sinia asked, as though she expected her daughter to actually answer the question. However, when Katie didn't reply, her voice finally seemed to be softening, and a sense of worry crept into her words, when she asked "Katie? What's wrong? Where are you going?"

"Away!" her daughter shouted at the top of her lungs, kicking open the front gate in one motion, and storming out with both the weapon and shield in tow.

* * *

Over the course of her trek through the woods to the north of town, which had lasted over an hour, Katie had run into three wolves, but one good kick to each had sent them packing, and she suspected that one of them; which had hit a tree in the process, was probably dead. It had helped to calm her down, though, and at last, she was just starting to think about turning back for home, when suddenly, something flashed across the corner of her eye.

Quickly, Katie turned to look; to see what it was that had caught her attention. It was something off in the distance; something big, but hidden behind the thick trees that were growing all around her.

Slowly but surely, she pressed onward, driven forward further and further by her deepening curiosity, and passing one tree, then the next, then moving around two more, until finally, she came within sight of the thing that had, in the distance, seemed like just one stray sparkle. For a moment, all that passed through the young lady's mind was awe and wonder over the amazing sight before her.

However, that awe and wonder was the only thing that she would later remember.

* * *

The next thing that Katie knew, she was waking up in the woods, with the light of the sun still visible on the horizon. She was lying on her side in the wet grass, and as she finished regaining consciousness, she started scrambling back into an upright position as fast as she could, though it wasn't fast enough to keep the dew from soaking into her clothes and knapsack.

Quickly, she was on her feet, shaking herself all over to try to dry off, when she ran her hands over her knapsack and gave a start in surprise. In another moment, she'd dug her hands into the bag, and retrieved two items from it that she'd never seen before in her life, looking at them in amazement. The first was a thick, but amazingly-light book, and the other was a transparent bottle made from some kind of crystal or tempered glass; a pretty strong substance, at any rate.

Curiously, Katie opened the book and began to leaf through it, but much to her surprise and dismay, there was nothing written on the pages. They were all completely blank. She had no idea where the book and bottle had come from, and from the looks of things, the book itself wasn't going to give her any answers. However, she did notice that the pages were almost perfectly-dry, and remained that way, even when she touched them with her wet hands; as though they were enchanted to be resistant to water. Questions filled her mind from that experiment alone.

Reluctantly putting the book back into her bag, Katie gave the bottle a quick examination as well, looking through it at the forest beyond; the bushes, the trees, the flowers...

That, however, was when she saw something truly amazing for the first time. Somehow, the inside of the bottle was changing color in places, when she looked at the flowers through it. A White aura seemed to have surrounded the purple flowers, and sure enough, it wasn't really there, since it disappeared when Katie moved the bottle again. Still, when she looked through the bottle, there it was; an aura of white.

That was when another idea occurred to her, and in just a moment, she'd bent down to pick some of the flowers, and actually put one inside of the bottle. Sure enough, the aura had grown stronger since the flower was in the bottle itself, and it looked very warm and comforting. For a moment, in fact, she was sure that the bottle was trying to tell her something about the flower; that those flowers were good for eating, or something.

On an impulse, Katie actually did put one flower petal into her mouth, and when she swallowed it, she noticed a couple of differences. For one thing, she found that it had become a little harder to concentrate. However, on top of that, and more importantly, she suddenly felt full of energy, as though she'd just been running for an hour. It was that little extra bit of pep that she'd needed to start heading towards home. She was begining to feel like forgiving her mother for what she'd said, so she started off through the woods to the south, putting the bottle back into her bag, and gathering a few nearby flowers, mosses and mushrooms as she went, curious to see what effect they might have on her strange, new toy.

However, by the time Katie got back to her village, she was met by a vision of horror; a shining radiance that meant death, loss and tragedy.

Of the various buildings that had made up the small village of Karohad, over half were on fire, and another fair number had been burned to the ground already, including the Slow Sabrecat. A lump formed in Katie's throat at the sight of that, but she pushed back the feelings of sadness and loss, forcing herself to concentrate on what she needed to do. Karohad was burning, and her friends and family were probably in danger. That meant that she needed to find them as quickly as possible.

As fast as she could, Katie made her way to her own house, which was already ablaze, and kicked the door in, though it took more than one kick. Inside, there were flames everywhere. The kitchen was a wreck, and the table and chairs in the center were already on fire. Katie tried to push them aside, but got a pretty bad burn in the process on her left arm. Still, she managed to get to the other side of the room, where she caught sight of her mother and father. Her father looked as though he was losing consciousness from the smoke, and her mother was clutching a small bag in one hand, but was an absolute mess, with burns all over her skin. Just seeing them like that was like a stake through the younger woman's burned arm.

Still, she was determined to get them both out. Quickly, she grabbed her father under one arm, but got another burn on one of her legs as she did so, then seized her mother in the other arm, feeling something give unpleasantly in the process. At last, however, she charged back the way she'd come, hauling her two parents back out the front door, and away from the burning house, before finally placing them on the ground as gently as she could. Her father seemed to be alright, though still barely conscious, but her mother looked absolutely horrible, as though she was right at death's door.

It was only then that Katie thought to open the bag that her mother had been holding, and found that, of all things, it was full of garlic. For just a moment, Katie wondered why her mother would have gone for something like that. But then, she remembered how, as a young girl, her mother had taught her about ingredients in recipes, and how garlic was useful for not only giving people energy and fighting impurities in the food, but helping them think clearly and speeding the healing process. It was those thoughts that caused a slight glimmer of hope to awaken in the nord girl's heart.

"If only it can..." Katie muttered to herself as she dug her bottle back out of her bag, placing the garlic inside with the other things she'd gathered, "if... if..."

Suddenly, however, something new started to happen within the bottle. The garlic looked like it was almost melting, along with everything else she'd put in there, until at last, all that was left inside of it was a gooey, yellow paste. On an impulse. Katie tasted the paste, and discovered, in astonishment, that her burns were beginning to fade. Without even giving it another second's worth of thought, she placed the bottle up to her mother's charred and cracked lips, and forced her to down the entire thing.

The nord girl sat and waited, watching her mother for moment after agonizing moment, and yet, seeing no visible change. Finally, however, an amazing transformation began. Her mother's burns began to become less pronounced, though they were still clearly severe. Sinia still couldn't move her arms or legs, and was obviously in devastating pain all over. Nonetheless, in moments, her eyes shot open, and so did her lips.

"Mother..." Katie gasped, doing everything she could to calm her down, "Don't worry. You'll be..."

"Thank the... nine." Sinia gasped out, looking as though she hadn't seen her daughter in years, "Katie... I..."

"Don't try to talk, mom." Katie exclaimed, grabbing some more garlic in the hopes that her bottle would make another healing formula with it, but her mother didn't take her advice.

"I'm so... sorry." Sinia gasped out miserably, "I shouldn't... have been so... cruel. I was... afraid you'd... never... survive. I guess... I was... wrong."

"Stop it, mom!" Katie exclaimed again, shaking her bottle up and down with the garlic still inside of it, "You'll be okay! You're going to be fine! You just need a few more drinks, and you'll be fine."

However, for some reason, Sinia was smiling calmly at that point, as if she had no more regrets, although Katie still felt miserable, and the garlic still didn't seem to be melting the way it had before.

As she continued trying to get the garlic to melt; mixing it with various flowers and mushrooms that were still in her pack, she felt a gentle hand come to rest on her shoulder, and realized that her father was awake.

"Dad!" Katie exclaimed, a sense of desperation still rushing through her heart, "It has to have been the moss. I need more forest moss! Find me some, and... and..."

For a few moments, Katie looked up into the face of her father, and saw a mix of emotions conveyed by that face. There was shock and amazement, worry and anger, and pride and relief all mixed into one, but in the end, like any good redguard, Jeleen knew when action was needed.

In only a moment, he'd returned with armfuls of moss, some of which Katie recognized, and began putting into the bottle. Sure enough, it melted the garlic once again, producing a sort of yellow slime, which she administered to Sinia. Her burns began to soften again, although that formula seemed to have had less of an effect than the one before it. At last, three more formulas later; each of only moderate effect, Sinia's burns had begun to vanish, and her condition seemed to be stabilizing. It was only then that the nord girl dared to turn from her mother, to face her dad once again.

"Dad..." Katie said, as she looked into her father's eyes, not sure that else to say or do. However, by that point, her father had lunged forward and wrapped his arms as far around her as he could, squeezing hard as he did so.

"I was so worried about you." Jeleen said just a moment later, genuinely surprising her.

"Worried about me?" Katie asked, feeling a little confused, "Why? I'm fine."

"We had no idea what happened to you." her father replied, however, "After the first couple of weeks, they gave up the search and..."

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Katie exclaimed, more confused than ever, "Weeks? Are you saying I've been gone for weeks?"

"Honey..." Jeleen explained, looking very surprised by his daughter's reaction, "You were missing for over three months."

* * *

Katie had sat next to her mother's unconscious body for a while, just listening in stunned silence as her father had explained the situation. Three months ago, she'd gone for a walk in the woods, and hadn't returned home. Sinia had blamed herself for what had happened, but eventually, the search had needed to end. Then, just that very day, something horrible had happened; something that no one had been expecting.

A black-winged monster had descended on Karohad, spewing fire and smoke from its mouth, overwhelmed the guards and set fire to the town. After devouring five of the town's inhabitants, and torching over half of the buildings, the monster had sprung back into the air, taking off for some other place in Tamriel. The people of Karohad had been left in the burning rubble of their town; a great many of them having perished in the inferno. However, as bad as all of that was, Jeleen was convinced that it was only the beginning.

"I'm sure that that monster was a dragon; one of the old wyrms that brought destruction and death, and heralded the end of the world." Jeleen said sadly, "This is the worst possible thing that could happen. Looking back on it, I can't believe how worried I was about a rebellion starting, or another war, or some kind of influx of renegade bandits from Skyrim. I guess I was worried that if any of those things happened, we wouldn't be able to give you a safe place to live."

Katie could barely believe what she was hearing, but she didn't try to respond, since she could tell that her father wasn't finished yet.

"Maybe you think the world is already a safe place to live, Katie. That makes part of me feel great, I suppose. Still, it's too niave. You need to face reality. Soon, you'll have to fight for your life, and you might still die. We might all die. So many people have died already..."

Once again, Jeleen paused to gather his thoughts, and when he spoke again, he looked utterly determined at last.

"We all need to pitch in this time, Katie. I need your help again."

His daughter just nodded quickly, getting to her feet.

"I need you to go for help. Some messengers were sent to Elinhir just before the dragon attacked, but we need all the help we can get right now. I want you to cross the border, get to Falkreath, and see if they'll lend us some help."

"Me?" Katie asked, feeling a little sick, "You want me to cross the mountains?"

"You're the only nord in Karohad." Jeleen explained a moment later, "If they don't listen to you, they won't listen to anyone. Besides, the nords have a history with the dragons. We need their help."

For a moment, Katie was about to raise another objection, but one look into her father's face told her just how serious things were getting. In no time at all, she found herself nodding, and heading for the gate. However, just as she was about to leave, her father tapped her one more time on the shoulder.

"One more thing, honey." Jeleen said as Katie turned to face him one last time, "We might not see each other again for a while, and I just wanted to say, about the way you've been learning alchemy..."

Katie felt a warm sensation travel into her face for a moment. She hadn't suspected that the magic bottle was an alchemical device, although it seemed to make sense when she thought about it. Still, she'd never practiced alchemy before in her life, and neither had anyone she knew. It took her by surprise, and for a moment, she almost wondered if Jeleen was about to scold her. However, she needn't have worried.

"I've never been so proud of you." Jeleen remarked happily, with more feeling in his voice than she'd ever heard, "I just want you to know that... before you go."

It was, Katie thought in amazement, almost worth the danger and the tragedy to hear such compliments from her father, and yet, she couldn't fully appreciate those compliments, because as much as she wanted to be able to take credit for learning a thing or two about alchemy, she had absolutely no idea where that strange bottle had come from.

All Katie knew was that she'd wandered out into the woods, and had gained two magic items, and lost three months of her life. She'd also lost her house, and nearly lost her family, and that, she decided, was a mystery that she couldn't leave unsolved. As soon as the people of Karohad were safe, she was determined to learn what had happened to her during those three months, and who the book and bottle really belonged to.

* * *

Before leaving town, Katie took a few moments to think about what she'd need for the journey. It would be a trip of several days, across harsh climates. She had her fur boots, gloves and coat for the trip over the mountains, but she had to spent a little while digging through rubble for supplies before she'd found everything she needed. It took several hours, but eventually, she'd found a bedroll, a kettle, a kit for starting fires, some basic cooking utensils and about three days worth of food and water, which, she suspected, would be enough if she combined it with a little hunting.

The trip began as just a walk in the woods; generally in the direction of the northwest. However, soon enough, the path began to travel uphill, and the hiking became much harder. Every step was becoming hard, and Katie was constantly feeling tempted to find a spot to sit and relax, if only there'd been one handy.

Further and further up she traveled, up the steep incline of the mountain path, until at last, after over three days of hiking, feeling hot, thirsty and exhausted, Katie finally found herself peeking over one of the smaller peaks of the mountain range between her own homeland of Hammerfell and the nord land of Skyrim. At last, after all that hiking, the nord land was spreading out into the distance in front of her, as far as her eyes could see. Snowcapped mountains, pine-filled forests, a long river, and beyond that; great, vast planes covered with a mix of snow and grass patches. She couldn't see anything beyond that. The mists were too thick.

Katie stopped in those mountains to catch her breath for a few minutes, but soon, she remembered her father's desperation, and with her determination renewed, and her breathing back to normal, she headed down the mountainside into Skyrim.

However, just as Katie neared level ground, she began to hear a commotion nearby, and turned to see what was going on. There, just beyond a bend in the mountainside, she could see a troop of imperial soldiers tying the hands of some struggling nords, who all seemed to be wearing light armor, metal helmets and blue cloth over their torsos. It reminded Katie of the way the soldiers of the imperials and the thalmor dealt with bandits back home. However, she was just taking a step back towards the forests to the north, when she found a very sharp-looking arrow, pointed directly at her face; being aimed at her by the bow of an imperial archer.

"That's far enough, Stormcloak trash." the imperial said angrily, "Don't know how you expected to sneak by us, but you're not going to do anything to help your buddies now."

Katie wanted to raise an objection; to insist that she'd been mistaken for someone else; to do or say anything that would get her out of that situation, but she didn't have enough time. In only a fraction of a second, something hard and cold hit her in the head from behind, and everything was blackness.

* * *

Author's note:

That'll teach me to try playing a mainstream PC game.

Alright, to be fair, Skyrim is a great game. The problem is, it's not an RPG. It's an action game, and that wasn't what I was looking for.

You see, in an RPG, you create a character of your own, and step into the role of that character, benefitting from playing that role well. The abilities and limits dealt with in the game are those of the character type you've chosen to play as at the start of the game, -not- (and I cannot stress this enough,) those of the player.

In Skyrim, you have a limited number of options for character creation (which I've taken great pains to exceed,) and yet, no matter what kind of character you choose, ultimately, you can succeed in any field; magic, swordplay, archery or thievery. This, combined with a greatly decreased number of skills from previous TES games, and a much greater focus on player-controlled action than on the skills of the character being played as, and you're left with a game, which, for better or for worse, is less of an RPG than its predecessors.

However, the RPG-ness of Skyrim wasn't the only thing I missed. You see, there are many other things that I wanted to see in the game, but which didn't make the final cut, and furthermore, have not been added, even by mods, since the game's release.

I'd actually considered calling this fanfiction "Skyrim; Beyond the Mods," but the title was just too meta for me. Still, it does begin to describe the thought processes that went into making this fanfic.

1. Use Skyrim as though it were the GM for a modified GURPS game.

2. Insert into the fanfic things that haven't already been added by mods. Make the character's alchemy work differently than in Skyrim. Give her a spear, and a -spear skill,- and give her a different body-type than it's possible to get for your character in-game. Finally, give her her own personality, and give her the freedom to make different choices than are allowed by the heavily-scripted and very-linear quests in Skyrim itself. For example, maybe she'll get into a fight with a quest-essential character just because she doesn't like them. Maybe she'll get into a fight with the Thalmor. Maybe she'll get into a fight with a bard. The possiblities are enormous.

This chapter doesn't cover anything that happens during the actual game, although chapter 2 will begin to do so, and when it does, I'll also include an addendum at the end of each chapter, explaining what I included that the game does not.

I'm planning on working on this fanfic for a little while at least (until I get tired of it, which may take a while,) and I plan to enjoy it. I hope you'll enjoy it too.

-Bra1n1ac-


	2. Chapter 2: Stormcloaks

Chapter 2: Stormcloaks

* * *

As far as she could tell, Katie had never been knocked unconscious before. Even when she'd lost three months worth of her life, waking up in the middle of the woods north of her home, she hadn't had any sense of having been knocked out, or of having suffered head trauma of any sort. Waking up gradually, with a nasty headache in the back of a horsedrawn cart, being driven by a burly man in imperial armor was, in several ways, a new sensation for her.

As the cart continued on, lurching back and forth as it went, and causing Katie's headache to worsen, she slowly found herself opening her eyes, and realized, only gradually, that her wrists were bound together over her stomach.

Once she'd recovered enough from the blow to get some understanding of her situation, Katie began looking around. Apart from the tight bindings on her wrists, and the guard in the front seat of the cart, any attempt at an escape was blocked off by the fact that the cart she was being carried in was only one of a caravan, consisting of at least four carts. Each was guarded by a minimum of one well-armed imperial soldier, and most of them were carrying between three and four prisoners, although for obvious reasons, she was the only prisoner in her cart.

Just then, she started to hear the people in the cart behind hers talking to each other, and turned to look at them as they rode. One; a blond nord dressed in the same blue outfit that she'd seen the others wearing at the border, seemed to have started up a conversation with the others in the cart, and they were an assorted bunch. There was a tall, proud-looking nord dressed in noble garments, who was gagged near the back of the cart, a smaller, slimmer nord wearing rags, and a morose-looking imperial who looked like just about the most pitiable creature that Katie had ever seen. The discussion was mainly carried on by the blond nord, but the only one who never said anything was, of course, the gagged nord in the back. Even the imperial spared the other two a couple of words. However, Katie couldn't make out any of what they said, specifically, and in just a moment, her attempts were cut short, as the imperial soldier in the front seat spoke to her directly.

"I'm curious, ma'am." he said, leaning back just a little bit, so that she could hear his voice over the noise of the horses' hooves, "You're clearly not a stormcloak. What were you doing at the border trap?"

"Trap?" Katie asked, still shaking the cobwebs from her mind as the dull throbbing in her head faded to nonexistence.

"It's none of my business, of course, but it's pretty clear you're no fighter, and the way things are going now, you might wind up dead. Why were you so close to the borders of Skyrim?"

It was only then that memories of her mission rushed back to Katie again, and she sat upright, trying to explain the situation as best she could.

"I don't live in Skyrim." she explained quickly, "I just came here from Hammerfell, because we need help. A monster attacked my village, and..."

"From Hammerfell?!" the guard interrupted, sounding almost amused by the idea, "Seriously? Ma'am, I've never climbed that mountain range, and I don't think I ever will. The place takes days going straight uphill, right?"

"Yes." Katie replied sadly, as she realized where the discussion was heading, "It was a three-day, uphill hike."

"Well, forgive me for being blunt, miss," the imperial replied with a chuckle, "but you don't strike me as being quite that... you know... athletic. Not for mountain climbing like that."

"Look," Katie said, brushing past the half-insult, "I just need to get to Falkreath and ask for help from the Jarl. Can we talk about that after we..."

"We passed through Falkreath this morning." the soldier replied sadly, however, "Sorry, ma'am. We're headed for Helgen now."

"Then we need to turn around and go back the way we came." Katie insisted, but the soldier, it seemed, had some bad news for her.

"Miss, I really wish this was my call, but it'd be worth my head to try turning around now, or letting you go. Even if I believed your story, the fact is, you were still found at that stormcloak ambush, and that makes you a suspect. Sorry. You're coming with the rest of us to Helgen. The captain will decide what to do with you there."

For a few moments, Katie just leaned back in the cart and felt irritated at the delay. However, the more she thought it over, the more she realized that things were probably a lot worse than she knew. Not only had she been attacked and captured by imperial soldiers, but she was part of a convoy carrying what she assumed were criminals of one sort or another to a place called "Helgen." The whole thing just felt more and more terrifying, the longer she sat in that cart, particularly since her parents had always taught her to watch out for imperials and thalmor. It was, she realized, a very bad sign.

After only a few minutes of riding along a path through the woods, however, the first of the carts reached a large gate, made of wood and stone, which lead inside a tall, wooden barricade, and Katie felt a fresh chill travel up her spine as her own cart passed under the huge frame of the gate. In the cart behind her, she could hear the thin nord starting to pray in a panicked, raised voice, but she couldn't tell whether he was just excitable, or whether he actually had a good reason for his panicking.

Pretty soon, however, Katie found her cart being driven in between small, wooden houses, and heard the voice of a man nearby, telling his son to get indoors. The boy objected briefly, saying that he wanted to watch the soldiers, but of course, curious, little boys only rarely get what they want. Finally, all the carts pulled up to a stone wall, side by side, and one by one, they came to a halt. Several people were emerging from the archway in the stone wall and taking up their positions next to a small tower nearby, but the sight of the first one alone gave her a nasty premonition. He was dressed in the long, black hood of an executioner, and he was carrying an axe.

Though she still wasn't sure what was going on, Katie found herself being helped out of the back of the cart by the soldier who'd been driving it, and there she was, in the midst of a crowd of nords, and the one brown-haired imperial from the cart behind hers. Right in front of her, there were two people in imperial armor; an imperial woman dressed in bright, well-polished iron, and a large, nord man wearing light armor with studs on it. The nord had some sort of checklist in his hands, and was calling off names, ordering the prisoners, one by one, to step forward. The whole thing was a terrifying spectacle, made all the worse by the way one of the prisoners; the thin nord from before, kept screaming about how he wasn't a rebel, and they were all making a mistake.

Finally, however, things seemed to have been brought to a head when his own name was called.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No!" the thin nord exclaimed in a furious panic, "I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!"

Then, just like that, his hands still bound, the man took off like a shot, heedless of the shouts of "Halt!" coming from the imperial captain behind him.

"You're not gonna kill me!" Lokir shouted back as he ran, but the moment the words escaped his lips, the realization of what was really going on went through Katie's head like a thunderbolt. In one swift motion, she turned her head to the left, seeing the execution block and the executioner, then turned back to look at Lokir again, just as, with a cry of "Archers!" from the captain, he was impaled by an arrow from behind.

"Aaaahhhh!" Katie shouted at the top of her lungs, as she wrestled with her bonds, but they held fast, in spite of her efforts.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The imperial captain asked derisively, though she seemed not to have noticed Katie's efforts. However, one person had; the soldier who'd driven her there. In a moment, he had his hand on the hilt of his sword, and was whispering a warning to her.

"Don't raise a fuss. I don't know if you've got a chance to get out of here alive, but you won't help matters if you fly off the handle."

However, there was no giving that kind of advice to someone like Katie of Hammerfell.

"What is the matter with you people?!" Katie shouted furiously at the top of her lungs, tugging futilely at her bonds again, "A man was just murdered right in front of you! Why are you just standing there?!"

For a moment, the captain's eyes widened in disbelief, but soon, she was approaching the large, nord woman, though she still wasn't close enough to touch her, or to be touched.

"Who is this?" the captain asked, turning to face the nord in the light armor, but after all of that struggling, good fortune was finally on Katie's side. With another mighty shout, the ropes covering her wrists had been torn to shreds, and the guard behind her had drawn his sword and taken aim for a swing at her.

Once again, however, luck was on Katie's side. Seizing the man's wrist in one hand, she lifted him bodily into the air, swung him clear over her head, and threw him right towards the captain, who didn't have quite enough time to get out of the way, and was knocked over by the flying guard, spraining her ankle in the process.

Up to that point, things had seemed to be very much under the control of the imperial soldiers, but that was when one of the other nords took action as well; the well-dressed one with the gag over his mouth, who, it seemed, had merely been biding his time. Instantly, as three nearby archers took aim at Katie with their bows, the gagged nord leapt forward and seized an arrow out of the air, slicing his bonds with ease the moment that he had access to something sharp, and removing his gag with one hand, to reveal a vicious grin. A moment later, he opened his mouth...

However, just as the nord had been about to speak, another kind of sound filled the air; a roar, like some kind of horrible, ferocious beast.

"What is that?" The nord in the light armor asked in horror, drawing his sword, and looking up into the sky; almost ignoring the growing number of prisoners who were breaking free, right under his watch.

However, it was no more than a moment later, when a huge, black, leathery-winged creature with a ferocious, fiery glare came crashing down right on top of the tower nearby, and opening its mouth, released a defeaning noise, that knocked over more than half the people there, including Katie, but not the well-dressed nord. Like a flash, he'd wrenched a sword from one of the nearby imperials, shoving its owner effortlessly away, and had cut the bonds of three of his fellows in only a few seconds. Clearly, no matter what happened after that, the well-dressed nord was going to escape.

By that point, the whole place was in chaos. Everyone; imperials and nords alike, were running back or forth; seizing bows or other ranged weapons, or else, just fleeing for cover in a panic. Soon, one of the escaping nords had grabbed an axe from one of his captors and was running towards one of the nearby towers, pausing for only a moment to turn back and face the remaining prisoners, and even looking directly at Katie, shouting "Hey, kinsman. Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance! This way!"

It took Katie a few moments to get to her feet, but fortunately, she had all the time she needed. Everyone was either fighting or trying to protect themselves from the dragon, and most of them seemed to have forgotten about her.

As fast as she could, Katie followed the nord who'd shouted to her as he lead her inside the nearby tower, and under the cover of the thick, stone walls, which, she hoped, would offer some protection against whatever that beast was. In hindsight, she thought, it was amazing. After assaulting at least two imperial officers, and being attacked by a monster very closely resembling the the one that her father had described; the one that had attacked her hometown, she was still alive, and still in one piece, and once again, she was free... sort of. Her hands were free, anyway.

It seemed, for a moment, to have grown darker outside, as though clouds had gathered at the dragon's command, and the overall effect was pretty terrifying; especially when combined with what sounded like explosions, still coming from outside.

Inside the tower, Katie was met, not only by the nord who'd shouted to her a moment earlier, but by the well-dressed nord, who'd liberated himself and his companions before, and she seemed to have interrupted a conversation between the two of them.

"Jarl Ulfric!" the nord with the axe asked in shock and amazement, "What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages." the well-dressed nord; apparently named Ulfric replied ruefully, though for the moment, he wasn't paying any more attention to Katie.

The nords gathered in that tower spent several seconds in silence, but at last, one of them exclaimed that they needed to get moving, and the one with the axe started up a spiral staircase along the outside of the tower, encouraging Katie to follow him as he went. Thanks to the long hike, and the brief scuffle that she'd just recently gone through outside, she had just a little more energy than usual, so after taking only a second to catch her breath, she started up the long flight of stairs.

Katie was only about halfway up the stairs when her axe-weilding new friend reached the top, and was immediately glad that she wasn't as fast as him, since at a bend in the path, the stone wall suddenly seemed to explode, and the dragon's head forced its way in through the hole in the wall, shooting a blast of fire into the tower. At least one nord at the top of the stairs was crushed by the falling rubble, and burned to death by the flames, but fortunately, neither the axe-weilding nord, who got out of the way in time, nor Katie, who was too far away, were injured by the dragon's assault, and it gave them a vantage point, to see what the monster was up to, she thought.

Soon, she'd rushed up the remaining stairs and peeked her head out of the hole in the wall, relieved, in some ways, to see that the dragon had moved on. The nord was already at the top of the stairs, waiting for her, however, and looking out through the hole as well. A moment later, however, when he spoke, he sounded utterly helpless.

"I don't see any way to get you out of here, kinsman." the nord said sadly, "You did us a good turn back there, but I just can't see any way to help you escape. If I were in your place, I'd jump through the damaged roof of that inn, across the way over there, but... Well... I think you understand."

"Yeah." Katie admitted, looking out at the burning inn across the way, which had a large hole in its roof on the side of the building facing her, "There's no way I can jump that far, but maybe..."

Quickly, Katie started looking through the rubble on one side of the stair landing, and there, she found the body of the unfortunate nord, who'd been crushed under the debris. However, most importantly, for her, he was carrying a two-handed warhammer with a very long handle; nearly five feet in length. Only a few large rocks needed to be pushed aside before the warhammer was free, and soon, she was holding it in both hands, with the hammerhead pointed downward.

"This might work, or it might not, but it's the best idea I can think of." Katie explained as she turned to face her new friend, "Supposing it works, what should I do next?"

The nord, however, was smiling again, and it was clear that he had some idea of what Katie was about to try, so after a moment, he continued.

"Leave the inn and I'll try to meet up with you by a different route. We'll get out of here together if we can."

"What about Ulfric?" Katie asked, gesturing with her head towards where the well-dressed nord was still standing downstairs.

"I don't think either of us needs to concern ourselves with Jarl Ulfric." the nord replied with a confident smile, however, "With us or without us, he'll find his own means of escape."

"Okay." Katie said, and in just a moment, she'd charged forward as fast as she could, jamming the hammerhead into the stone at the base of the opening in the wall, and using the long, metal handle to vault her entire body into the air, and out over the distance between herself and the inn.

* * *

Katie had been hoping to vault all the way across the distance between the tower and the burned inn, and her attempt to use the warhammer as a vault wasn't a complete failure, but it wasn't a complete success either.

The vault took Katie across about half the distance, but suddenly, she found herself descending rapidly. She didn't have enough time to think things through clearly, so in a panic, she stretched out both arms, grabbing hold of something thick, wooden and cylindrical. When she got a moment to look at it, she found that it was the railing of the inn's second floor, and it had changed her direction in mid-air. She'd just been falling before, but after having grabbed the railing, she found herself swinging instead; towards the wooden wall of the inn's first floor.

In just another moment, Katie had collided with the half-burned, wooden wall, crashing clean through it, and wrenching her hands loose from the railing. Soon, she'd collapsed to the ground on the inside of the inn's first floor, and it took several more seconds for her head to stop spinning. However, she hadn't suffered any major injuries during the crash landing, and she had made it into the inn somehow, which meant that she was more or less where the nord had told her to go.

Quickly, Katie scrambled to her feet and headed for an opening in the other side of the inn, where she could hear panicked shouting coming from outside. As she looked out, she saw that the huge dragon was still flying around overhead, landing occasionally to shoot blasts of flame out at the nearby buildings and terrified people, as the latter tried to escape. However, at that moment, she noticed that at least one person was still trying to limit the death toll as much as possible. A large, nord soldier wearing studded light armor had just finished hiding a young boy and an older man in a corner, where, he must have hoped, they'd be out of the dragon's field of vision. She even recognized him. He'd been there when the thin nord had been shot by the archers. He'd been one of the people who'd stood by and done nothing.

Without really thinking about the dragon, Katie left the inn and headed towards the soldier with a scowl on her face, although it didn't take long for the soldier to notice her.

"What? You're that prisoner!" the soldier exclaimed in amazement, "Don't tell me you survived all this! Well, never mind. Just stick close to me if you want to continue surviving."

"You've got a lot of nerve talking like that after..." Katie began, but before she could finish her sentence, the dragon let out a blast of flame in her direction, forcing her to move behind a nearby building to avoid getting burned.

"Save it!" the soldier exclaimed as soon as the flames had diminished, "Right now, we have to get out of here in one piece. Follow me, and try to keep out of... Well, follow me."

Katie felt like cursing in response, but she kept her mouth shut, for the moment, following the soldier's lead as best she could. He began by rushing down the road in a crouching position and hiding behind a wall, just in time, as the dragon landed almost directly above him on the wall itself, and shot another blast of flame right over his head. It was all she could do to stay in a corner until the dragon took to the air again, but even so, she was sure it had spotted her out of the corner of its eye.

Still, the dragon had moved on, for some reason, and that gave Katie and the guard a chance to continue on themselves. Soon, they'd passed through the broken-down ruin of another house, and found themselves in the middle of a large street, where several imperial guards had gathered, firing their bows at the dragon as best they could. She didn't have a bow herself, and didn't really know how to use one anyway, but it seemed that the guard she was following didn't plan on attacking the dragon that way; at least not yet. He charged between the other guards quickly, towards a large archway several yards off, then passed through it, and was heading towards a good-sized building, which seemed to still be in one piece, on the other side of town. It took all her effort, but she was just able to keep up with him.

However, just as the soldier got within a few yards of the building, he nearly collided with someone who Katie had been expecting to meet; the nord with the axe, who'd helped her escape from the dragon's first attack. For just one moment, she almost thought that she'd have two companions instead of just one, but it was a vain hope, of course.

"Ralof, you damned traitor! Out of my way!" the soldier shouted angrily at the nord; the first time that Katie had heard his name, and a moment later, she heard the soldier's name as well.

"We're escaping, Hadvar!" the nord shouted angrily, "You're not stopping us this time!"

"Fine!" Hadvar replied with an angry scowl, "I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"

Then, just like that, the two started off in opposite directions, though each was headed for different entrances into the same building, and just at that moment, Katie knew that she had to make a choice. On the one hand, she was curious about Hadvar; unsure of just why he was so ready to wish death on Ralof, while trying to protect her. However, she'd seen the indifference of both men to the death of a fellow nord, and had things that she wanted to ask them both.

Ultimately, though, Katie's only decision was whether to follow the man who'd seemed to care about her, or the man who'd seen her as an irritant. The choice was still hard, but in seconds, she was following Ralof in through the entrance he'd taken.

* * *

In just a few seconds, Katie found herself stepping into a large, circular room with a dead nord in a blue outfit lying on the floor on the other side. In spite of all the death she'd seen in just the last couple of minutes, she found herself swallowing hard at the sight of a corpse; particularly since he'd so recently been alive. Once again, however, Ralof impressed her, because it seemed that he was also rather badly effected by the sight of death.

He approached the body slowly, looking it over hesitantly, and finally, pushing it just a little, until he could see its face. The moment he saw the face of the dead body, he winced, and turned aside in dismay. He had, Katie realized, known that dead man personally.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother." Ralof muttered somewhat bitterly as he got back to his feet, trying to look strong in front of her. However, she could tell that it was an effort on his part, which made her feel just a little better about having followed him inside.

"Looks like we're the only ones who made it." Ralof said a moment later, turning to face Katie, "That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like..."

"Look, never mind that for now." Katie interrupted, feeling a little impatient, and more than a little scared, "We need to get out of here fast."

"Right. Right." Ralof almost coughed out, recovering his bearings in just a moment, "In that case, you should take Gunjar's gear. He won't need it anymore."

Obviously, Ralof had been referring to the dead nord, but the problem was that the only gear he had, that Katie could use was a pair of fur boots and an axe. The rest of it was armor, and much too small for her. Even the boots pinched something awful, though she put up with it for the moment. As for the axe, it was bigger, heavier, and balanced differently than the normal, woodcutting axes that she was accustomed to using at her home in Hammerfell. She had no experience at all in using that kind of weapon. Still, it was the only one available to her, at the moment, so she took it readily enough.

"So what now?" Katie asked, as she turned back to look at Ralof again. He seemed to be glaring, perplexed, at a nearby gate.

"This gate's locked." Ralof remarked dispassionately, "I'm going to try the other one."

However, just as he'd almost reached the other gate, which was across the chamber from the first, a horrified expression dawned on his face.

"Imperials!" he hissed, turning to face Katie again in urgency, "Hide!"

"Hide?!" Katie hissed back, "How? Where?"

Ralof was starting to look desperate, but there was no avoiding the situation that he was about to face. In just a moment, the gate slid open, and in came the very same imperial captain, who Katie had seen before; the one who'd ordered the murder of that poor, cowardly nord, and not given two thoughts to it. She was flanked by another imperial soldier, dressed in light armor, and both were armed with swords, and probably trained to use them too. Katie still wasn't sure how to use a hand axe as a weapon, so it was very fortunate that Ralof was there.

Ralof had drawn his weapon, even before Katie could draw hers, and it was a good thing too, because both imperials drew their swords and attacked, as soon as they saw the two of them. For a moment, Katie tried to swing her new axe as though she were chopping wood, back at her father's forge, but it kept swerving away from its target, and it just wouldn't swing the same way. Still, she managed to get a lucky hit in against the soldier, badly wounding him. He took the opportunity, however, to counter-attack with his sword, slicing her across one hip, and drawing a cry of pain from her lips. It was the first wound she'd ever received, although, in reality, it was nothing more than a flesh wound. Nevertheless, it drove her back for a moment, giving the soldier the chance to recover slightly. Worse yet, Ralof was still busy fighting the captain, and couldn't move in to help her.

As the imperial soldier moved in for the kill, however, Katie gripped her axe hard, one last time, and in one mighty swing, split the soldier's head and helmet cleanly in two, knocking his body through the air and into one of the nearby stone walls. For several seconds, she just stood there, covered in blood, and looking in horror at her own hands, one of which still clutched the axe. It would be several moments before she'd be able to come to grips with what she'd just done; what she'd just been forced into.

However, she wasn't the only one distracted by the loud, thudding noise of the soldier's lifeless body colliding with the wall. For just a moment, the captain's head turned a little to see what had happened, and that gave Ralof another chance to attack, cutting the captain in the side with his axe, then following it up with another swing, which also hit its mark, although by that point, the captain had realized her mistake and moved just slightly away from the blade of the axe, limiting the damage that the second attack had done. Her next attack drove into one of Ralof's sides, though like herself, he took evasive action, limiting the damage done by her sword.

Katie was amazed as she watched the two fight, but she couldn't bring herself to lift her axe anymore. Part of her wanted to; to swing it again, and save her friend from the cruel, murderous captain, but she was remembering the blood on her hands; the soldier she'd just killed, and the horror of their whole situation. As much as she wanted to move, she was too horrified.

Ralof's next swipe, however, missed its mark completely; the captain sidestepping it with only a small amount of effort, and it left him open to her next attack, which again, drew blood, although he seemed to still be struggling to evade her; to somehow minimize the damage that he was taking. However, the fight had begun to turn against him, and it shocked Katie back into action.

Quickly, she rushed forward as fast as she could, swinging her weapon at the imperial captain, and dealing a glancing blow against her armor, which knocked her slightly off-balance. It had drawn the attention of the captain once again, and she briefly seemed unsure of what to do next, until Ralof got to his feet again and drove his axe directly into the captain's stomach.

For a moment, the captain sputtered angrily, trying to counter-attack, but Ralof was back in control again, and her attack never hit its mark. In just a moment longer, he'd kicked the captain back and prepared his axe again.

The captain's wounds were starting to inhibit her ability to fight, and it was obvious that she was moving slower, even as she just barely managed to get out of the way of Ralof's next swing, and dealt only a glancing blow with her own next attack. Katie's last swing had broken her defense, and it was only a matter of time before she was finished. However, it seemed that the captain was perfectly ready to fight to the death. Cruel and murderous though she was, she seemed to very much believe in her cause.

That determination continued to drive her, even as Ralof swung his axe one more time, cutting the captain open. Then, that was it. The battle was over.

"One of them might have the key to the gate." Ralof suggested, straightening up, in spite of his own wounds, as though nothing had even happened, "Let's search them."

That, however, absolutely astonished Katie. She was bloody, dizzy and the wound in her hip was still hurting like mad, and yet, to Ralof, it all seemed horribly normal. Even the shock and anger that he'd felt at the sight of a fallen comrade hadn't kept him from spilling the blood of others, nor, she realized in dismay, had it kept her from doing the same thing. Still, she'd expected him to pay some respects to the dead, at least.

"I'm sorry." Katie whispered under her breath as, gathering up her courage, she put her hands into the guard captain's armor, and gave a loud cry.

"What?!" Ralof asked in confusion, turning to face his companion in astonishment, "What's wrong?"

Ralof had mistaken Katie's exclamation for a scream of panic, but in fact, it was just the opposite; a cry of delight, because the first things that she'd found inside the captain's armor were a blank book, and a crystal-like bottle; her own possessions from Hammerfell.

"I can't believe it!" Katie exclaimed, quickly seizing a knapsack from a nearby table and shoving her precious possessions into it, "I haven't seen these since I was arrested."

"They were probably taken from you in the ambush at the border." Ralof replied, smiling a little, once he saw the joy on his new friend's face, "I suppose it makes sense that the captain would have them."

"There's just one other thing I wish she had on her." Katie added sadly, "I also had a spear that belonged to my father. I guess it'd be too much to expect her to carry that around, though."

"You're lucky you found what you did." Ralof replied, though not unkindly, "Most prisoners scheduled for execution never see their possessions again."

"I suppose not." she replied ruefully, but in just another couple of moments, she moved her hands back into the armor of the captain, and sure enough, there was a key there, which she took, along with the heavy boots and gauntlets that the captain had been wearing; the strongest armor there that she could fit into. Finally, she slid the heavy, iron helmet off the captain's head, placing it on her own. It sent a shiver down her spine for just a moment, but she wasn't sure whether it was distaste, over taking the armor from a corpse, or just the cold, clammy feeling of the iron covering her head.

"Let's move on before that dragon levels this whole place." Ralof said once he was sure that Katie was ready, but just as she was about to unlock the gate, something occurred to her.

"There's one thing I want to ask you." she said, turning to face the nord for a moment, "Those guards. Did they attack us because they knew we were escaping prisoners, or was there another reason? More importantly, why didn't you ask Hadvar for help outside? Aren't we all in danger right now?"

For a moment, Ralof's expression took on an air of confusion, and he stared at Katie strangely. However, at last, he spoke very seriously to her, his expression hardening.

"It's because I'm a stormcloak, sister. A real one. I almost thought that you might have been one as well. You've the spirit of a stormcloak; no mistake about that. Your reaction to poor Lokir's death was worthy of our finest generals, but there's your answer. I'm not nearly as famous as Jarl Ulfric, but my face is known well enough. Imperials will kill me on sight if they can, and I've no love to spare for them either. That should answer all your questions."

However, far from answering Katie's questions, Ralof's reply had caused new questions to spring up in her mind, and before she could even take time to think it over, one of them escaped through her lips.

"What's a stormcloak?"

That was when Ralof's eyes widened, and he took a step closer to her, staring into her face as though looking for some kind of deception.

"This is your first time in Skyrim. That's why you were at the border." Ralof guessed correctly after thinking it over for only a couple of moments.

"Right." Katie acknowledged, though she still wasn't sure whether the well-known stormcloak was pleased by her response or dismayed.

"Open the gate." Ralof just said, however, "I'll try to explain on the way, but this will take some time.  
For now, I'll just say that if you'd been living in Skyrim recently, you would already have known about the stormcloak rebellion."

The whole thing sounded fishy to Katie, but she unlocked the gate and led the way through, into a stairway beyond, going down. Tremors shook the whole building as they pressed on, and as she neared the bottom of the stairs, a large section of the roof caved in, and she had to draw back, to keep from being hit by any of the falling debris. Ultimately, only one doorway was left for their escape, and as they moved, Ralof explained part of the problem.

"The imperial occupation has always been hard on the people of Skyrim, but we knew the empire had been founded by one of our own, who had ascended to become one of the divines. It was the one boast we mortals had, and it forever placed Skyrim above all the other lands, and the nords beyond all the other peoples. The strength of the empire, and the worship of Talos, in its own way, were testimonies to the greatness of Skyrim and the nords. We loved them, honored them and cherished them, so when the empire surrendered to... Look out!"

Ralof's shout had been intended to direct Katie's attention to the two imperial guards who were standing in the room that the next door had opened out into. Soon, the two found themselves in battle again. The fight was very hard; especially for Katie, who was using a weapon she wasn't accustomed to, and took a particularly nasty wound early on in the battle. Nevertheless, when she got a good hit in, she dealt a lot of damage with it, and in the end, she and Ralof finished off their opponents at almost the same time. Both of them, however, were seriously hurt by the time the fight ended.

"Look around for some potions." Ralof said, pointing to some nearby barrels, "We're going to need them."

Sure enough, there, in one of the barrels, Katie found several potions, some of which were labeled "Healing potion." She took one herself and tossed another to Ralof, and was amazed as she felt her wounds starting to shrink away. It sort of tickled, in fact. Still, even once the effects of the potion had finished, two large cuts remained in her stomach and hip, which hadn't completely healed, and Ralof, similarly, had a few remaining wounds of his own. Still, they'd each gotten some of their strength back, and for the moment, Katie decided, it would probably be best to save the last healing potion for when it was really needed.

"As I was saying," Ralof remarked, continuing his story, "the surrender of the empire to the Aldmeri Dominion was a devastating blow all over Tamriel. It shamed all the peoples of the old empire, but most of all, it shamed the nords. To see those imperial fools throwing away the great dominion that our forebearers had built was shame enough, but bargaining with those wretched altmer for peace, at the cost... At the cost of renouncing our religion; our worship of Talos. Even in Hammerfell, you must know the price that was demanded of all the peoples of Tamriel."

"Yes..." Katie admitted, "but in Hammerfell, we basically paid lip service to the Thalmor demands and then just went on with our lives like before. They don't usually arrest people for Talos worship. It's too much work, and costs too much money."

"That wasn't enough for some of us." Ralof replied grimly, "We wanted our freedom back, and we wanted it aboveground. We just didn't have anyone to gather around, until Jarl Ulfric rose to power."

"Well, to make a long story short, his first act in power was to denounce the imperials as Thalmor agents, which, if we're willing to be honest, is what they've become. He then declared war on the imperial occupation, and especially on the Thalmor, and Skyrim has been embroiled in civil war since then. If not for your distraction, that war might have ended in defeat today. You deserve all the thanks I can give for that."

However, something about Ralof's explanation had bothered Katie intensely, and at last, she knew what it was. No matter what his reasons, or how he tried to dress it up, Ralof was a rebel; a person who'd chosen to tear down the civilization around him, because it wasn't what he wanted it to be, and as far as she could tell, with no strong plan for building it back up again. She had to admire his fervent devotion to his religion, but honestly, worship of Talos, or of the other Eight had always made her a little uncomfortable. Even if it hadn't, however, there still would have been one big question in her mind. Ulfric had declared open war on the society that had surrounded him; a war that had undoubtedly cost many lives. Katie found herself wondering silently, if that was what Talos would have wanted.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. You can't have an overweight or obese character in your game. Not even an NPC.

2. You can't start out in any of the other carraiges, or carry on a conversation with any of the guards.

3. You can't break free of your bonds during Lokir's execution, or even raise a fuss over it.

4. You can't pole vault towards the inn, or swing inside of it, through one of walls, and if you don't make the jump, you have to go back into the tower and try again.

5. Hadvar treats you like the well-behaved prisoner that the game forced you to be.

6. Unrealistically, if a character, like Katie, can use -any- form of one-handed weapon (like her spear,) she can use any other form of one-handed weapon just as easily (like an axe.) This is not the case in this story.

7. Combat in Skyrim doesn't work like it does here. Wounds are minimal and unrealistically-depicted. Blood is rarely visible, and no one is going to put a huge gash in any of the Skyrim character models. Evading enemy attacks is only a gameplay mechanic insofar as you can move out of the way if you have enough time. You and your enemies can't be wounded in specific places, and it can't impact your ability to fight.

8. The book and bottle are an utterly new mechanic; impossible to find or use in Skyrim.

9. You can't question Ralof about the Stormcloaks in any depth by this point. His dialogue options are very limited, as with most NPCs in Skyrim.


	3. Chapter 3: Lead On

Chapter 3: Lead On

* * *

In what felt like no time at all, Katie and Ralof had reached the bottom of a flight of stairs, where they found a large room, full of cages and chains, as well as a raised stone platform in the center of the room, and a table off to one side, with a book, a small blade and a knapsack. Katie might have mistaken the place for a prison compound, but it seemed that Ralof had seen enough rooms like that one. He knew what it was.

"Troll's blood!" he gasped, "A torture room!"

However, as he and Katie drew nearer, they could see that something was going on in that room besides torture. There were two men in imperial armor down there, and they were engaged in fierce combat with two other men; both wearing stormcloak gear; the blue sash and chainmail. For the first time, Katie was struck with a pang of guilt over even getting involved in a fight like that. Still, she knew she'd be mistaken for a rebel if she was seen in Ralof's presence, and in just a moment, he'd rushed to the attack, and she had little choice but to follow behind.

That battle went much faster, as the odds were far more in their favor, and pretty soon, the torturer and his assistant were both dead. However, one of the stormcloak soldiers had died as well. Once again, Katie felt the tragic sense of loss at the sight of so many dead men, but that time, Ralof didn't stop to look at them. In fact, Katie realized in dismay as her eyes took in the blood and shattered armor all around her, he'd never once stopped to look twice at any of the imperials he'd killed. It was a sobering thought.

"Was Jarl Ulfric with you?" Ralof asked, turning to the surviving Stormcloak with a look of some concern. She was a beautiful, young woman with long, blond hair, but Ralof's expression seemed distant, as though he were worried, but not about her.

"No." she replied, shaking her head sadly, "Not since the dragon attacked."

Katie, however, had taken a moment to look through the book and knapsack that were on the table near the raised platform, while the two had been talking. The book was a very odd volume called "the Book of the Dragonborn." Katie only had a moment to flip through the pages, and note, in some surprise, that it was some old legend about a being who had the blood of dragons in his veins; that the dragonborn was a special person; given the blessing of the time god Akatosh; who was believed to be a dragon himself. In was all gobbledegook, of course, thought Katie. Power came from effort, not from blood.

"Hey!" Ralof exclaimed a moment later, however. He'd taken up a position near one of the cages, "I think there's something in here! Can you... can you...? No, I don't suppose you can pick locks, can you?"

"No..." Katie admitted as she got closer to the cage, looking at the lock for a moment or two. It was an old lock, and not very sturdy, but Katie was still hesitant to try to break it with the heavy hand axe, given how little experience she had with it.

"I wish I had my spear, or a lighter axe." Katie muttered sadly, "I could bust an old lock like this wide open."

Ralof looked curious for just a moment, and finally, he said "You must think I've been rude up to now, but I was just in a hurry. I never asked your name."

For a moment, Katie wasn't sure what to say; whether it would be alright to tell her real name to someone who was clearly an outlaw, but then again, it wasn't like she would have been hard to track down, even if she didn't.

"Katie." she admitted quickly.

"That is not a Nord name..." Ralof observed, however, his face falling just slightly as he took in what she'd just told him, "You... Ah, I see. Your first time in Skyrim, but you were born of Nord parents, and raised in Hammerfell. Of course. I should have guessed. You must have been given a redguard name to help you adjust."

"Right." Katie replied, "Although the real reason was that the two people who raised me were redguards themselves."

Once again, however, Ralof's face fell, but only for a brief moment.

"I see. Well, no harm done. You're back in your homeland, and you've got the heart to rescue your brothers and sisters, even when you've never met them before. People like you give me hope."

Katie was completely taken aback by those words. She had no idea how she was supposed to take them. It certainly seemed as if Ralof was being sincere about liking her spirit and such, but on the other hand, he also seemed, for a moment, to have viewed her as a bit less of a person, since he'd learned that she'd been raised by redguard parents. It was like a compliment in one way, but a veiled insult in another; the worst kind.

However, before Katie had the chance to formulate any really good replies to what he'd just said, Ralof and the other stormcloak were headed off down a passage nearby, which was situated on the other side of the torture room, and Katie found herself rushing to try to catch up.

* * *

After only a short time of rushing through tunnels, however, Katie started to hear voices coming from up ahead, an it was plain that Ralof had heard them too, since he'd gestured for Katie and the other stormcloak to stay back.

"Imperials." Ralof hissed furiously, "Not sure how many, but we've got to get past them to get out of here."

Katie felt a lump form in her throat over the idea of fighting again; especially against a force of unknown size, but Ralof, it seemed, was used to that kind of situation, which was probably what had gotten him arrested to begin with. In just a second, he and the other stormcloak had charged forward to meet an imperial soldier, who was standing in the middle of a stone ledge, not far into the next chamber. However, Katie could already see that it had been a trap. Two more soldiers were advancing on them from the ground floor of the chamber, off to one side, and worse yet; two archers were standing on the other side of the chamber; fitting arrows to their bows. As bad as things were, and as likely as it was that she'd die in the next few minutes, she knew that she couldn't let Ralof die alone.

In just a second, she'd charged the two imperials who'd been advancing on her new friends, although one managed to step out of the way completely, and the other was only slightly scratched by Katie's axe as she charged him. Still, the noise drew Ralof's attention. Fortunately, neither of the soldiers had been ready for her, and neither was prepared with a counter-attack, even though both had their weapons drawn. However, she wasn't prepared to try to dodge anything either, and the archers were already fitting arrows to their bows.

It horrified Katie to think of one of those deadly shafts driving its way into her, but nevertheless, she knew that she couldn't afford to turn her attention to them yet. Sweeping all the way around behind her, Katie executed one fast, powerful swing with her axe, this time succeeding in striking both of her opponents in the chest, leaning hard into the blow as she did so, and knocking both of them back. That, unfortunately, was when the archers fired their first rounds.

One archer had attempted to hit Katie dead center, and his arrow had glanced off one of the stalagmites that still protruded from the floor of that cavern, but the other succeeded in driving a shaft into one of her hips, causing her to wince in agony. Ultimately, though, the arrow was only a flesh wound, and it hadn't gone down quite as deep as it might have. The danger, she thought as she pulled it from her skin, would be the two armed enemies in front of her, who had just recovered from the pasting she'd given them, and were lifting their weapons.

Katie did her best to dodge the blows of her enemy as they attacked with their swords just a moment later, and although she didn't really succeed, neither blow was able to dig very deeply into her, and all told, they hadn't done nearly as much damage to her as she had to them.

Katie only had a fraction of a second before swinging her axe again, to notice that the stormcloak soldier with the long, blond hair was fighting for her life against the imperial guard she'd first engaged, and neither seemed to be making any headway against the other, because of the fact that somehow, Ralof had disappeared. For a moment, Katie wondered where he might have gone, but she knew she couldn't take her eyes off her own enemies to go looking for him. She'd swung her axe at one of her enemies just a moment later, hitting him just cleanly enough to deal some serious damage to him, although he was still trying to fight. His next swing didn't hurt that much, but unfortunately, the swing of his companion dug much deeper, and Katie felt something tear inside of her as she raised her axe again, finishing off one of the soldiers who'd been struggling against her, and turning to face the other, who still seemed not to have had enough, though his next attack hurt much less than the last one, and pretty soon, the two were trading blows again. However, the other soldier never managed to strike as deeply with his weapon as he had before, and in the end, he fell to the ground too, giving up his last breath.

Katie was still panting with exhaustion as she surveyed the bodies of the two enemies she'd just defeated, and the third, who had apparently been beaten by the other stormcloak soldier. However, that was when she realized something; the archers had stopped firing at her.

Quickly, she turned to face the place where the archers had been, and there, she saw a sight that almost made her want to scream aloud. The blond-haired stormcloak was lying dead on the ground, along with one of the archers, and Ralof and the last archer were in combat together, each covered in wounds, and only a hair away from dying.

With a roar of fury, Katie charged at the archer, slamming into him hard, and knocking him into a nearby wall, probably saving her friend's life. As badly as she'd been injured in that last fight, she could tell just by looking at Ralof, that he needed the last potion more than she did, and it only took her a moment to hand it to him.

Once the archer got his bearings back, he drew a sword and tried to attack her, but once again, the attack was too shallow to do any serious damage, and soon, Katie had driven him back with her axe. Finally, with a howl of rage, and having finished the potion, Ralof darted forward, and lopped off the final archer's head, then just stood for a moment, looking at the nord woman who'd saved his life, then turning to look at the fallen stormcloak in dismay.

"How...?" Ralof gasped out in exasperation and confusion, "How did you survive, and...?"

However, Katie couldn't answer. It was, in some ways, a miracle that any of them had survived. They'd been outnumbered almost two to one, and the enemy had had the advantage of being able to strike from a distance, yet the two of them were alive, at any rate, although she felt like she was about to drop dead at any moment, and even after taking the potion, she suspected that Ralof felt the same way.

"None of us should have survived." Katie said at last, "It was a total mismatch."

For the next several seconds, however, Ralof just stared at the body of the blond-haired woman, any number of guilty thoughts probably running through his mind.

"There should be potions" he gasped out at last, "for more of the things that matter."

However, when he finally turned back to face Katie again, there was a strange look in his eyes, like the look of a lost child.

"I should be dead." he said, as though the idea had never really occurred to him before, "I should be in Sovngarde with her. But... you saved me. We were trained since birth to be great, nord warriors, and... you saved me?"

"You can't be a great warrior if you're dead." Katie observed, but that seemed to have not been the point that Ralof had been trying to make, because he soon started shaking his head sadly.

"I should be thanking you." he said at last, "Yet, all I can feel is shame; shame over not being strong enough. Shame over leading her to her death. She didn't need to die like that."

Katie had nothing to say about that, however, and at last, she was pleased when Ralof got to his feet again, straightening up as much as his wounds would allow.

"Never mind." he said furiously, as though he were still chastising himself inwardly for some kind of weakness, or another, but was finally ready to move on, "Lead the way."

"What?" Katie asked in amazement, "Me? Why do you want me to lead?"

"You've proven that you can survive things that I never could." Ralof admitted, the anger fading just a little from his face as he spoke, "Honestly, at this point, I trust your judgment more than I do my own. Go ahead. Lead on."

For a few moments, Katie wished that she could trust her own judgment nearly that much, but in the end, she did lead on, through a tunnel beyond that cavern of death, and over a wooden bridge, which was operated by a nearby lever, into the cave beyond. Fortunately, that cave didn't contain any soldiers, but it did have a stream running through it; apparently from aboveground, which seeped through the rocks at one end of the cave, and seemed to have dug out a small gully in the floor, which led into a tunnel.

Though it got her feet absolutely soaked, Katie pressed on down the path of the water, until she found a place where the water seeped through more rocks, and another tunnel branched off from it. However, she caught a whiff of a horrible smell, coming out of that tunnel, and that wasn't the only sign that something was wrong there.

There was a small ledge just next to the entrance to the tunnel, and resting on that ledge was a human skeleton; its bones having been picked utterly clean. There was no question what had happened to that poor soul; some ravenous creature had killed him, slowly devouring every inch of flesh on his body. They'd left behind the bones, as well as a small bag of gold coins, which Katie stuffed into the knapsack she'd been using. However, she couldn't help but ask herself; what kind of horrible creature had consumed that poor traveler, and was it still alive; still waiting for new victims in the tunnels up ahead.

The idea gave Katie pause for just a moment, as she thought of some vicious monster tearing into her side, just like the swords of those soldiers, in the cavern they'd just passed through. Then again, as badly as those swords had hurt her, they'd nearly killed Ralof, and as unpleasant as her thoughts about him had started to become in the recent past, she didn't want him to get hurt. It was the strangest feeling she'd ever had, but in just a moment, she turned to look at him, pleased to see that he was watching her carefully as she lead the way onward.

"Ralof..." Katie said, sure that the worry must have been showing on her face, "I want you to stay here for a minute. If I don't return in five minutes, you can come in after me."

"Alright." Ralof replied, looking a little confused still, but willing to take her advice.

Katie could barely believe how much she'd changed in just the last hour. She'd never thought of herself leaving home and going on adventures, much less risking her life. In fact, she rarely even thought about people who actually went out and did things like that; fought wars, protected caravans... that sort of thing. Back home in Karohad, she'd just sort of assumed that people didn't fight that way anymore. However, it was quickly becoming obvious that the world hadn't changed that much since the war, and even more obvious that as little as she'd tried to prepare for combat, she was actually surprisingly prepared.

It was a good thing, too, because as soon as Katie came within sight of the next open cavern, she saw, in dread, that it was absolutely filled with truly enormous spider webs, and that could only mean one thing.

Katie pulled out her axe as fast as she could, just as spiders the size of wagon wheels began descending from the ceiling to attack, apparently having noticed her. She counted at least five, and they all looked pretty ferocious, although their legs were thin, and seemed likely to break under stress. They were all moving in to attack, poisonous venom dripping from their mouths as they advanced, and then one of the larger ones actually fired a ball of webbing and venom directly at Katie. It didn't hurt much when it hit her, and neither did the next one, having been fired by another spider. However, that proved something about her new enemies. Namely; they were perfectly capable of attacking from a distance, which was an advantage that she needed to undermine, and fast.

With all the speed she could muster, Katie charged right into the nearest spider, demolishing it with a single blow of her axe afterwards. However, the remaining spiders were on the attack, striking her from all sides. Only one of them, however, dug deep with its teeth into her leg, and it was one of the smaller and weaker ones. She'd crushed it in no time, with another swing of her axe. Still, she was starting to feel weak from the constant strain that she was putting on herself, and from all the blood she was losing.

Soon, another of the spiders had gotten another good lick in; a big one that time. Katie felt like the whole world was spinning, but she shattered one more spider with her axe before the bigger ones went on the attack again, driving her to the floor with their teeth. It was no good anymore, at that point. The remaining spiders were just too fast, and she couldn't keep up with them.

However, just then, as she was about to black out, she heard a ferocious war cry, and that was the last thing that she would hear for hours.

* * *

When Katie finally woke up, she still felt incredibly weak, but somehow alive. She wasn't sure how, but it seemed that Ralof had somehow gotten her to another river, further on in the cave, and had washed and bandaged most of her wounds, as well as several of his own. He was smiling at the puzzled look on her face, but quickly put one finger to his lips as she tried to sit up.

"No noise." he whispered under his breath, and that was when she heard the sound of another creature breathing; some large beast, which must have been very nearby.

Though she was still hurt all over, Katie struggled to sit up as silently as she could, and sure enough, across the cavern from the two battle-worn nords, there was a large, fearsome-looking black bear. The only thing that might have made it seem even a little unthreatening was that it was apparently asleep. It was curled up on the cavern floor, and its breathing was very heavy.

Finally, Ralof dared to take a few steps closer to Katie, and begin whispering into her ear.

"I've found the exit, but it's past the bear, in the cavern to the left. If we can just sneak past it, we'll be... we'll be..."

However, a look of open horror and despair had begun to cross Ralof's face the moment he'd mentioned his ridiculous plan, since the very idea of Katie sneaking past anything was a fiction that only vast blood loss could have conjured up.

"Apologies." Ralof said with a sigh, "I feel I could fight somewhat now, but a bear is a dangerous foe, even at my best. I can lodge an arrow in it's hide to start with, and take it by surprise, but I need your help to overpower it."

Katie couldn't feel her arms. She was still dizzy from the blood loss and spider venom, and she hated to think of what a beast like that one could do to her in her weakened state. But what else could she do? There was no other choice?

In a moment, Ralof had fitted an arrow to his bowstring, as Katie got to her feet, and let it fly the moment she'd picked up her axe. The bear howled in rage and began its charge towards them, and she responded with a charge of her own, hoping desperately that Ralof would follow and lend her what aid he could.

Katie struck the beast with all her might, but the creature barely seemed to feel it, lashing out with a power just as great, and knocking her back into the stream, her head reeling again and her strength fading already. Ralof made his move next, slashing out at the beast with his own axe, but it turned on him, making a huge gash in his chest almost effortlessly, though it had failed to knock him down.

Katie finally managed to struggle to her feet after several seconds, and charged again, however, and that time, the bear seemed hurt. Ralof's next attack, in turn, seemed to hit a vulnerable spot, knocking the creature's head to one side, and leaving it open to one more strike from Katie. Her next blow drew blood, visibly, from the creature's snout and chest, causing it to roar in fury, and lash out as fast as it could, but Ralof ducked out of the way of its attack, and so avoided most of the damage that he might otherwise have taken from it.

Unlike the spiders that Katie, and apparently Ralof had just been fighting, the bear was much larger and slower, but it was also proving to be harder to kill. However, with one final, desperate effort, both Katie and Ralof swung their weapons full force at the beast's head, one last time, and with a deafening crunch, it was all over. The creature lay dead, and the path to the outside world was open.

Unable to run anymore; barely able to even walk, the two nords passed on, through the tunnel beyond what had once been the lair of that horrible beast, until at last, the daylight streamed in from in front of them, and for a while, neither one could believe what they'd just gone through. Each was having difficulty coming to grips with what had just happened; that somehow, both of them had survived.

* * *

Ralof and Katie had needed to support one another on the way out of the cave, and they were in no position to fight anyone else. A good, clean blow from another soldier could have finished off either one of them at that point. Nevertheless, they hadn't left the cave for more than a minute before Ralof seemed to freeze up, having noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Soon, he'd helped Katie over to a nearby rock, leaning her against it, and had done his best to put his own back up against the rock as well. Katie wasn't sure what he was trying to do, at first, until a tremendous, black-winged monster soared almost directly over their heads, flying off into the mountains in the distance. She hurt all over, but in that moment, she still had to fight back the shivers.

"I think he's gone." Ralof muttered, once he was sure that the dragon was far enough away, "Probably for good this time."

That was when the stormcloak leaned his head back against the rock and sighed. It was several seconds before he could summon up the strength to speak again.

"We can't be sure how many others survived. This place might be full of imperial soldiers soon... We should really clear out."

"Probably." Katie almost whispered under her breath, barely able to move anymore.

"If we could make it all the way to Riverwood... We might be able to find some weapons... armor... healing potions..."

"Mm-hmm..." Katie muttered again, but she still couldn't get up.

"You can't move either, can you?" Ralof asked, looking sadly up at the sky.

"No." Katie just replied, closing her own eyes and relaxing as best she could, until the dizziness and confusion faded, and all that was left was darkness.

* * *

Eventually, the pain had begun to fade just slightly into a sort of dull ache, and it was a sharp chill that woke Katie from her sleep. Ralof was still sleeping; still lying against the boulder, about a yard away from her. However, she'd begun to feel some of her old strength returning, even though her wounds were as nasty as ever.

With a little effort, Katie was able to get up again, though it sent shocks of agony through her legs and torso. She was still a wreck, but at least, she noted, she could move a little, and that meant that she could do a little planning.

Unslinging her knapsack from over one shoulder, Katie dug out her bottle; the same bottle that she'd used to save the life of her mother, and held it out in front of her again, looking through it like a spyglass at the surrounding landscape. It was night, and the darkness surrounded her almost totally, but she kept looking around with the bottle all the same, guessing that the auras she'd seen in the daytime might be even more visible at night, and sure enough, after about four minutes of looking, there they were; brighter than ever before, and coming from some sort of bush, just over the next hill.

Getting over that hill was a challenge, with her legs as torn up as they were, but in the end, Katie did manage to make it to the bush. It didn't have any fruit or berries, nor for that matter, any flowers, she noticed, but it did have thin, crisp leaves, which looked, in the light of her bottle, a sort of pale reddish-brown.

However, just as Katie was bending down to pick some of the leaves, one of her legs started to give out, and not sure what else to do, she let herself fall back, her knapsack shifting position as she fell, and dislodging the enchanted book that she'd found in her possession just a few days before. For a moment or two, the book rolled over on the ground, then landed face-down, with its pages open on the grass.

Carefully, Katie got her footing back, and reached for the book, but as she turned it over, and looked at the pages in the light of her bottle, she could see in amazement that something about the book had changed. The last time that Katie had looked at the book, all of the pages had been blank, but when she'd picked it up just then, there were words on one of the pages. It was still too dark to make them out distinctly, but she could see the phrase "King's Blood Herb" in especially large letters at the top of the page.

Then, Katie got another idea. She remembered how the aura of light in the bottle had grown stronger when she'd placed something into it, so in a moment, she'd picked a few leaves from the bush and stuck them into the bottle, and was gratified to see that the light streaming out from her bottle had grown nearly three times stronger, and turned an odd, blue hue. It was just enough to read the rest of the page by, and the words she read there not only surprised her, but filled her with open confusion at the thought of just what kind of wizard could have made a book like that one.

"King's Blood Herb" the book read, "a wild herb which grows only in rough soil, and in cold climates. It can be fabricated, however, in a rotation matrix if no such climate is available. Its uses in alchemy are manifold, as it has properties of healing, which can be brought out through the following method. Pluck the leaves from the branch of the herb; leaving none of the branch attached to the leaf itself. Then, dry the leaves for fifteen minutes over a fire, but without burning them. Once this is done, use a pestle to grind the dried leaves into a fine powder, and mix into a flash filled with water. Stir well, and add a pinch of oak ash. To save time, oak can be used to fuel the fire. Shake the flask well and consume. The effects are instant, but not dramatic, and several doses may be required to heal serious wounds. In addition, the herb may be used in several more advanced recipes, such as..."

However, Katie had read enough. Quickly, she began gathering herbs and stuffing as many into her knapsack as she could fit, then walked back to where Ralof was still snoozing, and poked him a few times to wake him up. He seemed, if anything, to have recovered even more than she had, and when she asked him for oak to start a fire with, he needed her to explain her reasoning a few times. Still, he'd shaken off his grogginess before too long, and set to work finding a few nice, big logs and some smaller branches to use for kindling, which he said were definitely oak wood. Katie had worked the forge day in and day out back home, so she knew how to start fires, though she'd never really done it in the wild before. Also, she needed some help from Ralof to set up a pair of axes over the fire, to act as a makeshift platform for drying the leaves. In the end, the setup was complete, and the dried leaves were all piled up near the boulder they'd been resting next to. It was only then that Katie realized that she had another problem.

"What's a pestle?" she asked, looking over at Ralof in some confusion.

"A small, wooden club used by alchemists and potionmakers. All alchemy tables have at least one, but we'll have to make do with one of these branches, if you'll give me a minute to carve it up."

Ralof, as it turned out, was an exceptionally good craftsman, and has succeeded in crafting a passable pestle within fifteen minutes, which she began using to grind the leaves on the rocks nearby. It was long, grueling work, taking the better part of the next half-hour, and making her arms hurt even more, but at last, the powder was finished, and they were ready for the next step.

"We need a flask of water." Katie said to herself, thinking aloud, but again, Ralof has a suggestion to make.

"Use your magic bottle, and the stream in the cave. The water in there was uncommonly fresh."

That turned out to be a good idea as well, although it meant that several trips were needed to continue refilling the magic bottle, and the potions each needed to be mixed in order. Still, Katie got some experience brewing them, and after five or six trips, and five or six healing potions, she was amazed by how much better she and Ralof looked. Virtually all of Ralof's wounds had vanished, and even his arm seemed to be working right again. Katie still had quite a number of cuts, and was working on another potion, but for Ralof, the only remaining problem seemed to be that his clothes were still stained with blood.

"I'll just wash up for a minute." Ralof said with a smile as he stepped over to the cave entrance, "You know, I've never seen an alchemist work like that before..."

"I'm not an alchemist." Katie just replied flatly, although she already knew what she'd been doing for the last hour or so; it was a potion-brewing method of some kind, though not one that she'd ever heard of.

"It doesn't matter." Ralof said, however, "All I know is, I trust you now, and I've never been able to say that to... Well, to anybody who used magic before. I owe you more than I can say."

Then, before Katie could say a word in reply, Ralof had disappeared into the shadowy mouth of the cave, and was gone, leaving her alone with her magic bottle and her powders.

* * *

As it had turned out, the book hadn't been lying about the relative weakness of the healing potions. Katie had needed to down almost five more before the last of her pains were gone, and she insisted on making one more to take with her before leaving the area. She would have made others, but sadly, she only had one bottle. Somehow, the potion bottles that had held the potions which the two had used during their escape from Helgen had disappeared, and glassblowing was well beyond anything that she'd ever used a forge for, even if she'd had one handy. It made her a little sad to have to leave the remaining powders behind, but they would have just poured right out of her knapsack, so pocketing her last potion, she headed off down the road after her new friend.

It was odd, because while he'd been steadily giving her new reasons to dislike him, she couldn't ignore the way he'd saved her life when she'd been at the mercy of those spiders, or helped her get past that bear. She'd never been in a position where she'd committed to risking her life for the sake of someone else before, but Ralof seemed to have brought that side out in her. Maybe, she thought, it was because he was such a mix of strange traits. He was a warrior, and a skilled one, and yet, in actual combat, to Katie, he just seemed so small and weak half the time; like he needed her protection, whether he realized it or not.

Still, Katie thought to herself; the man was a rebel and a soldier, and the defining trait of a soldier was their willingness to die, if necessary, for their side. It made her sad, but, she noted, Ralof would probably wind up in an early grave, no matter what she did to try to protect him. The most she could do was to survive, and do her best to convince him to consider her side of things.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. People in Skyrim are very ignorant, and regularly expect you to be able to do things alien to the character class you're playing, or ignore what you _can_ do, or _have_ done. Expecting Katie to be able to pick locks is a little ridiculous, but they ask the same thing of Altmer, Bretons, Nords and even Orcs. In Skyrim, no character will react any differently to you, based on anything at all that your character is or does, and I'll be defying this one incessantly, because you just can't have an interesting dialogue otherwise.

2. You can't set advantages and disadvantages for your character at the start of Skyrim, with the exception of the minimal racial benefits that each race receives. Katie has many weaknesses, such as minimal speed and agility, being unable to ride a horse for long periods, and being unskilled with an axe, but she doesn't take full damage from most attacks, and can charge and slam the enemy effectively in battle, provided that there's some distance between them through which to charge. These kinds of advantages and disadvantages can't be applied to your character in Skyrim.

3. Ralof won't shoot at the bear, and won't lead the attack against him. This is another instance of characters reacting differently to the player character based on what she's capable of, and what she isn't. Katie can't sneak at all, and has a penalty when using bows.

4. King's Blood Herb is not an ingredient in Skyrim, but there really aren't that many ingredients in Skyrim that restore health. No harm in putting more into the world when they're needed most.

5. You can't set up fires or mix potions in the wild in Skyrim, unlike in previous TES games, which let you carry alchemy apparati with you everywhere you went.

6. In Skyrim, health regenerates spontaneously, like magicka and stamina, even when you're not resting or recuperating. I took that out, because frankly, it was stupid. (I think there's a mod that does this as well.)

* * *

Note: Sorry this chapter took longer than expected. I've been further ironing out the gameplay mechanics of the homebrew modification of GURPS that I've created for playing Skyrim with, and I spent the whole week before last designing a sufficient spell system, which I only just finished recently. I'll be ironing out other gameplay mechanics in the future too, such as armor degradation and dungeon looting mechanics, which may cause further delays in upcoming chapters, though probably not in the next one.


	4. Chapter 4: Jarl Balgruuf

Chapter 4: Jarl Balgruuf

* * *

The path to the town of Riverwood, which Ralof had mentioned, was a fairly uneventful one. The two spent most of the time talking about their families, and how each of them had grown up, as well as what had driven them both into that situation. There was one brief attack by wolves on the way there, but there were only three of them, and neither Katie nor Ralof received more than a few scratches during the attack. They were such slight injuries, in fact, after what they'd both just been through, that they decided, together, that it would be a waste for either of them to drink the last potion just yet.

At last, however, a large, wooden arch could be seen coming into view down the path, revealing the location of Riverwood, and as Katie got closer, she could hear people talking inside the small village. One old woman, in particular, sounded desperately afraid of the dragon, and was trying to explain the situation to a young man, who, apparently, hadn't seen the dragon for himself. Chickens were walking free in the streets, and people were paying them absolutely no notice as they went about their jobs. If Katie hadn't still been so worried about her parents, she might have taken some time to explore the place. However, she was starting to trust Ralof just a bit more, and had decided, in her heart, to follow him until she was sure that he wasn't going to help her anymore.

"My sister Gerdur should be around here." Ralof explained as he lead Katie inside the arch and to the left, over a weak-looking wooden bridge, "She usually works at the mill at around this time in the day. I'm sure she could give us some help, while we decide where to head next."

Katie had already made up her mind to find out where Falkreath was and go there next, for the purposes of accomplishing her mission, but she didn't bother saying that aloud. Instead, she followed behind Ralof, across the wooden bridge and a around the corner of a stone wall, and there, relief and delight finally showed on his face once again.

"Gerdur!" Ralof exclaimed, rushing forward to meet a beautiful, young lady in a long, green dress, who looked absolutely astonished to see him. Even when he grabbed her in his arms and embraced her, Gerdur's expression of minor confusion didn't change all that much.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Ralof exclaimed delightedly, "After what happened to Helgen, I can barely believe it."

"Ralof?" Gerdur asked, still looking confused, "Why did you return to Riverwood? Is it safe for you to be here? What happened to Helgen? I don't understand. I heard that Ulfric was captured. Are you alright?"

"A little scratched. That's all." Ralof replied, still smiling from ear to ear, "My friend here saved me. I owe her my life."

As he said that, he gestured to Katie, who felt a little like she was being put on the spot, and predictably, Gerdur had a suspicious look in her eyes when she turned to look at her. It was one of those things that Katie was just used to. She almost never made a good first impression.

Fortunately, however, Gerdur held back what must have been a strong temptation to ask her brother if he was sure about that, and for the moment, simply took him at his word.

"In that case, we'll need to discuss this. Hod! Come here!" Gerdur shouted to a reasonably-large and well-muscled man, who was standing on a raised platform nearby, working with some wood. The moment that Hod looked up from his work and saw Ralof, his own face brightened up too.

"Ralof!" he exclaimed, and he got to his feet, rushing towards their position, "What are you doing here?"

"We still need to discuss that." Gerdur interrupted calmly, leading the way over to some freshly-cut tree stumps, and waiting for her brother to take a seat on one. Katie, in turn, took the opportunity to sit on another nearby stump as she listened to Ralof tell his tale.

Apparently, Ralof had been captured by the imperials during a separate ambush than the one Katie had fallen into; a place halfway across the country, called Darkwater Crossing. He and Ulfric had both been captured in the ambush.

"Their plan was to execute Jarl Ulfric, and probably myself as well; both without a trial." Ralof explained, "In a way, I almost wish they'd gotten their way. Jarl Ulfric has given our cause new life, but there are still too many in this land who think they can stand by, and not fight for their heritage. Perhaps that would change, if he had become a martyr."

There were times when Ralof said things that drew a feeling of disgust from Katie, and that was one of those times. It was becoming clearer and clearer that no matter who he swore loyalty to, Ralof didn't really care about anything except the success of the stormcloak rebellion; or at least, he cared about it most. She could only hope that he didn't mean what he'd just said, and was only using strong words, to try to impress his family and friends. After all, if Ralof would have been willing to sacrifice one friend for his precious cause; and a friend whom he called his liege, then how could she ever fully trust him again?

"Anyway, my friend here broke her bonds in a rage, when she saw one of her nord brothers killed, and then suddenly, we were under attack by a dragon."

"A dragon?" Gerdur asked in astonishment and horror, "You don't mean a real, breathing..."

"None other." Ralof interrupted sadly, before continuing his story, "Jarl Ulfric had his own bonds off in the confusion, and before long, we were all struggling to escape. I expected the Jarl to reach this village before us. Have you really not seen him?"

"No." Gerdur replied, however, looking partly puzzled, and partly disappointed, "You're the first travelers to come down that road in weeks."

For a few moments, Ralof sat and thought in silence, although it was clear that his sister was growing more and more worried as she watched him; a silent dread building up inside her. Finally, it was Ralof who spoke next.

"I don't like it. We were delayed for a night on our route here. Jarl Ulfric should have been here by now... unless he took a different route. That seems possible, I suppose."

However, after Ralof spent a few more seconds in silence, Gerdur seemed to have arrived at her own decision, and turned to face Katie.

"If my brother's right, you're a pretty tough warrior yourself, and that means we need your help." Gerdur said, still looking a little doubtful, "I have some supplies and equipment you can have, but if there's a dragon on the loose out here, the Jarl of Whiterun should know about it. Please, I know it may be out of your way, but we need someone inconspicuous to go to Whiterun and tell the Jarl about the dragon. You might be able to pass as a merchant, but nobody would mistake you for a stormcloak... I mean... Well, you know what I mean."

Katie did feel a little insulted by the way Gerdur was talking to her. Still, in the end, her choice wasn't based on that.

"I'm sorry, Gerdur... Ralof... but I can't afford to." she said, getting to her feet, "My first obligation is to my parents, and they sent me to Skyrim for a reason. I need to reach Falkreath and get help from them to prepare a defense against the dragon in my home village. I don't have time for a lot of extra errands."

However, by that point, a strange look was starting to spread across Gerdur's face, like a cross between amusement and pity. For a few moments, Katie wasn't sure whether Gerdur wanted to make a point, or was just making fun of her, but at last, Ralof's sister explained herself.

"I'm sorry, Katie, but if you think you're going to get any help from Falkreath... Well, you're mistaken."

"What?!" Katie asked, feeling absolutely horrified to learn that her quest was hopeless, after all she'd suffered, "What are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you what she's talking about." Ralof said sadly, without even looking up at her, "The Jarl of Falkreath is a young, selfish fool with a passion for gold, and no concern for his fellow man; not even for his own citizens. Convincing him to deploy the Falkreath guards or militia to aid your people would demand more gold than you can afford."

"But there's got to be some way!" Katie insisted, "Maybe if I do a few jobs for him, he'll..."

However, Ralof shook his head.

"Even if he were as indebted to you as I myself am, I doubt he would help you in any way that involved personal expenses. He has little regard for honor, I fear. However, there may be a way to complete your mission, and ours at the same time."

Katie was starting to feel curious, so she didn't interrupt, just listening as Ralof continued.

"I suspect your parents asked you to go to Falkreath because it's the city closest to Hammerfell, and so, troops would have an easier time marching to your homeland from there. I doubt he even knew about that fool being the new Jarl. He only rose to power recently, and hasn't made any famous decisions or changes yet. However, Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun, whatever else he may be, is a man who knows the value of honor. Do him a good turn, and I'm sure you'll have his help, even if you ask for a whole troop of archers. Besides, the journey from Falkreath to Whiterun isn't more than a couple of days. It might take you a week, at most, to return to Hammerfell with them, once you've made the needed arrangements."

Katie was starting to feel very irritated, but nevertheless, it sounded like a fair kind of idea, if only Ralof was telling her the truth. Still, it hadn't been that long since he'd saved her life. Back in the cave, with the bear, he could have just snuck out and left her to her fate, but he'd stayed behind, risking his life alongside her, and taking injuries from the bear to protect her. For the moment, she decided to trust him.

"Alright." Katie said at last, "I don't have much time, though. My parents were in danger when I left them, and I'm still not sure what happened to them, but I have to succeed at this. I hope you understand."

"Your parents..." Ralof muttered, looking down for a moment, but at last, he just smiled, and said "I believe I understand. I once made a promise to someone of my family, and I know how important that can be."

Katie wasn't sure that he did, but she also wasn't mean-spirited enough to say something like that to the person who'd so recently saved her life, so after taking some of the supplies that Gerdur had to offer her; including three healing potions and some good food and wine, she decided not to waste anymore time, just heading off down the road right away, to reach the other side of Riverwood, and a stone bridge just a little ways down the path, giving her the means of crossing the river, and continuing on towards Whiterun.

She'd been getting very hungry recently; having not eaten much of anything for almost an entire day. Still, she was eager to finally accomplish her mission, after a fashion, and she knew that she'd be able to survive for long enough to make it to Whiterun. For the moment, she decided to eat a loaf of bread that Gerdur had given her as she walked, though, convinced that she'd be able to have a proper meal once she reached the next city.

As expected, the path to Whiterun was relatively short; only a trip of about half an hour, and it was a fairly safe trip too, since along the entire road, Katie was only attacked once, and only by a single wolf, which she was able to kill in only a couple of blows from her axe. Soon, the trees had passed aside, revealing a huge plain, which spread out before her, filling almost her entire field of view, as far off into the distance as she could see. There, right in the center of it, there was a city made from wood and stone, with large walls around the outside, and beyond those, a series of farmhouses and windmills, clearly intended to be used for preparing the food that the inhabitants of the town would need in that harsh land.

The whole thing was a hopeful sight, not just because it meant that there would be good meals in Whiterun, but because until that point, Katie hadn't seen any signs that the people of Skyrim even knew how to work together in large numbers. The sight of so many people, working busily in a big city like that one was very refreshing.

However, from a distance, and across that plain, Katie hadn't been able to get any kind of proper idea of just how big the city was. Not counting the vast farmlands that sprawled out all around it, and past which she needed to walk to find the road again, once she saw that it wasn't leading to Whiterun's gates, the city itself must have been miles across, with three entrances in three different directions. Just between the farmlands and the city walls, Katie could see a series of six or seven large camps of nomad traders; most of them Khajiit, but not all, who were singing songs, dancing, and generally drawing attention to their wares through whatever means necessary. Then, she'd passed under the outer gates of Whiterun, and found herself walking uphill. However, she still wasn't quite inside the city itself.

A path through a walled-off area continued on inside that initial gate, and it continued on for quite a ways, before turning right, across a drawbridge, which fortunately, was lowered at the moment, then quite a ways further beyond that, until it turned left again, and the gates of the city itself were finally in sight; with several guards visible at both the sides of the gate, and on the walls, looking down from above in curiosity. Katie wasn't sure, at first, why such a long path, past fortified defenses would be needed, but then it occurred to her that in the case of an invasion, archers could man the defenses and continue firing at their enemies for quite some time before an invading force could reach the main gate. It would have functioned magnificently as a military defense for the city.

However, much to her surprise, just as she neared the city's main gates, one of the guards put his hand out for her to stop.

"You'll have to turn back." the guard said, "No visitors are allowed in Whiterun now, with the dragon on the loose."

For a moment, Katie was just flabbergasted, then flustered, then finally, the sheer idiocy of that situation occurred to her, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing out loud.

"I'm sorry," Katie said at last, stifling a chuckle, "but that's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life."

"What?" the guard asked, sounding slightly offended, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, look at it this way..." Katie said with a grin, "There's a large, strong, durable monster on the loose, which can fly freely over walls, and burn down anything else just by breathing hard. On top of that, it has a taste for people, and loves to gobble them up. So, what do you do? Well, of course, you seal up the gates, which it can just fly over anytime it likes, against anyone who might be trying to get away from it, or seek the protection of the well-trained and efficient guards of Whiterun. I mean, did you expect the dragon to come to you, looking for sanctuary?"

At that point, she really did burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching at her sides, and she could see, through the raised visor of one of the guards, that he was starting to turn rather pink in the face over being laughed at by this very large newcomer. Still, whether that was from anger or embarrassment was more than Katie could tell. She just knew that she couldn't stop laughing.

At last, however, the gate guard seemed to have had enough, because he moved back over to the gate and pushed it open. It was only then that Katie's laugher began to die down.

"I'm... heh heh... I'm free to go in?" Katie asked, smiling in delight.

"Go on!" the guard just shouted gruffly back, "Get in there, and hurry up, before I change my mind!"

"Yes sir!" Katie replied, and in just another couple of seconds, the gates of Whiterun had closed behind her, and just like that, she was inside one of the largest cities that she'd ever seen in her life.

* * *

Katie hadn't seen very many big cities over the course of her life. In fact, the only other city she'd ever visited had been Elinhir, and she hadn't even gone there more than twice since her eighteenth birthday. Usually, when her father had gone there to sell his goods, she'd stayed behind. However, she didn't even remember Elinhir being quite that impressive-looking in terms of its sheer size and population. The streets were like a maze, stretching here and there, turning into side-roads, and sometimes going on for over a mile in some directions, but fortunately, she never needed to ask anyone how to get to the Jarl's house.

The Jarl's house of Whiterun was called Dragonreach, and it was an especially large, richly-build house, situated at not only the highest point in Whiterun, but up several staircases, and so far above the other buildings, that its location could be seen from any place in the city.

Katie had finished the bread by that point, and was still a little hungry. Still, even though she still had two carrots, some cheese and plenty of wine in her bag, she decided that before doing anything else, she had to at least try to see the Jarl, and convince him to help her family, and the people of Riverwood.

It took her a little while to get up all those stairs leading to the Jarl's house, but fortunately, the door wasn't far from the top; a large pair of double doors made of strong, thick oak, right on the other side of a short bridge. There weren't even any guards on duty there, so in just a moment, Katie had pushed the doors open, and stepped inside.

The first chamber of the Jarl's house was a truly enormous throne room, and just the sight of it took her breath away. Huge, strong pillars lined both sides of the hall, and there were even a few more steps, leading up into the main area, which seemed to double as a throne room and dining hall. Two huge tables, covered with plates and goblets were on either side of the room, with a firepit right in the middle, and although Katie couldn't see much through the fire; even after she reached the top of the stairs, she did catch a glimpse of a throne, with a guard on each side, and a third guard; a very athletic-looking dark elf woman, advancing towards her.

Katie had been taught, over the course of her life, not to trust dark elves, but for some reason, she'd still expected better manners from the woman than what she got.

"Who are you?" the dark elf asked aggressively, having already drawn her sword in a threatening manner, "What do you want with the Jarl?"

However, Katie had also been taught how to practice good manners among rich folks who preferred them, so instead of raising any complaints, she simply started explaining herself.

"I've just come from Riverwood." she began, "Gerdur sent me here to talk to the Jarl."

"I'm the Jarl's housecarl." the dark elf interrupted, however, looking, if anything, a little bored, "I'll handle whatever it is."

Katie had a hard time figuring the housecarl out. She seemed very protective of the Jarl, but that was perfectly understandable, and anyway, it was more than that. The dark elf seemed to be assuming that her errand was some minor affair, to do with trade in the local villages; something she didn't enjoy dealing with, but was often required to take charge of anyway.

What really surprised Katie, however, was that a dark elf had managed to attain such a high position in the personal court of a Jarl of Skyrim. She'd always been taught that the dark elves of Morrowind and the Nords of Skyrim were mortal enemies; constantly at each other's throats.

"Alright." Katie just said to her, however, after a few seconds, "The truth is, I was there when the dragon attacked Helgen."

For a moment, she felt very gratified, as the eyes of the dark elf seemed to widen for just a moment in utter disbelief. She even thought she saw the first traces of a smile beginning to spread across the dark elf's lips, but all too soon, something seemed to have occurred to her, and her expression turned back into a resentful scowl again. Katie wasn't sure what was going through her head, but in a moment, the guard spoke again ruefully.

"Never mind, then. This is something the Jarl will want to hear about personally. Follow me."

Then, turning on her heel, the dark elf lead Katie around the firepit, and that was when she saw the Jarl clearly for the first time, and was, if anything, a little surprised. He looked astonishingly small.

Of course, Jarl Balgruuf was a nord, and about the same height as most adult, male nords. However, after seeing the huge city, climbing the towering staircases to the highest point in town and witnessing the sheer enormity of his throne room, Katie had, for some reason, been expecting someone particularly large and bulky, or at lest uncommonly-stocky. She found it surprising that Jarl Balgruuf's arms and shoulders, while well developed in their own right, were, in the end, rather ordinary. In fact, Katie's shoulders were broader than the Jarl's.

The Jarl was a little hard to describe in most other ways, however. He had a long beard, but not a very thick one, and a silver-colored circlet was around his head; apparently a sign of his royal station. He was dressed in thick furs, except over his arms, which he'd kept bare for some reason, and more than one small weapon hung from his belt. Oddly, however, he was merely slouching in his throne, as if it were the most dignified posture in the world, and the most befitting a ruler of the people. It surprised Katie a bit, since in her experience, the rich tended to have little wit, but much grace. Jarl Balgruuf, it seemed, was different.

Still, after only a couple of seconds of looking at the Jarl in surprise, Katie gave a respectful bow and waited for him to speak. It was the first time she'd ever met the ruler of an entire city, and she wasn't sure what the custom was for that. Fortunately, though, the Jarl spoke first, though he remained seated as he spoke.

"I've been told you were at Helgen during the attack? Did you really see the dragon?"

"Yes, sir." Katie replied quickly, straightening up as best she could, "I saw it with my own eyes. It burnt Helgen to the ground. I'd be dead by now, if not for a few brave warriors, who I met on the way out of Helgen. All of them fell in battle, except myself and one other. We thought that the dragon might head towards Riverwood next, though."

That was when the Jarl began to lean forward with a smile on his face, as though he'd just won a bet of some kind, and pretty soon, he'd turned to face another man, who was standing nearby; tall and bald, and looking somewhat grim.

"It's just as I told you, Proventus. Was I wrong to take precautions?"

"We only have her word for this at the moment, Jarl Balgruuf." Proventus; apparently an advisor, replied.

"Bah! You'd doubt the rising of the moons at night!" the Jarl replied with a satisfied grin, "We have here a person who watched a dragon burn a whole village down from almost under its very nose. That's enough for me."

Katie thought, briefly, about denying that those words were entirely correct, but something convinced her that the refutation would have been unwelcome, so she remained silent on that point.

In just a second, the Jarl had turned to the dark elf with the scowl on her face, and addressed her by name.

"Irileth, send a detachment of troops to Riverwood at once."

However, Proventus didn't seem to think that was a good idea, and soon, a brief debate between the three of them had arisen, over whether sending troops to Riverwood would be viewed by the Jarl of Falkreath as a suspicious move; possibly even a sign of an intention to attack Falkreath. It was all senseless politics, really, and in the end, the Jarl brought the discussion to an end by raising his voice, and ordering Proventus to back down, which he obediently did. That was when the Jarl turned back to face Katie, although he had a puzzled expression on his face as he looked her over.

"Well done. I'm impressed that you came looking for me on your own. In bringing me this news, you've done me, and the people of this entire hold a great service. I wish I could reward you for your efforts, but apart from gold and armor, I can think of nothing of appropriate value to give you for your services, and I don't believe that I have any armor that would fit you properly."

Katie wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or not, at first, but Jarl Balgruuf didn't seem to mean it that way, so she let the comment slide.

"Actually, Jarl Balgruuf, there is one other thing I need more than gold."

The Jarl simply nodded, to indicate that he was listening to her request, so she continued.

"I come, originally, from a village in Hammerfell named Karohad, which was also recently attacked; possibly even by the same dragon. I was asked to travel to Falkreath and seek help, but..."

"But the Jarl of Falkreath turned you away." Balgruuf guessed incorrectly, though Katie didn't correct him, "So, you want Whiterun troops to march south, past Falkreath and over the mountains to Hammerfell, to help your friends and family."

"Please, sir." Katie implored him, "We need to get help from somewhere."

However, after only taking a second to think the matter over, the Jarl shook his head sadly.

"There are three problems with that request." he said patiently, holding up three of the fingers on his left hand to illustrate. The first is that an expedition south into Hammerfell would be most costly; more so if my men encounter any redguard patrols, or are otherwise unwelcome. The second is that, as I'm certain you've noticed, men and arms are strained right now. Even sending guards to Riverwood will tax my forces seriously. The third, and possibly the most serious, is that at the moment, Skyrim is in the midst of a civil war, and each Jarl stands in a different relation to the two sides. The Jarl of Falkreath is entirely devoted to the forces of the old Empire, and I fear that he doesn't trust me much. You see, I'm not convinced that I can even afford to get involved. I consider Ulfric's claims to rulership to be nonsense, but I've also no desire to have imperial troops marching up and down my streets for any reason."

"You're undecided?" Katie asked, starting to feel very confused.

"Not really." the Jarl replied, "I have much less love for Ulfric than for the imperials. Yet, I've taken no side, officially, in the war, and for that reason, I'm distrusted by most of those who have, including the Jarl of Falkreath. I will not leave Riverwood unprotected with a dragon on the loose, but marching troops within a mile of Falkreath would be a much more serious matter. I suspect that the Jarl of Falkreath would mistake it for an invasion, and a sign that I'd chosen to side with the stormcloaks against him."

"So, you're saying you need more money, fewer dragons and one less war?" Katie asked, trying her best to summarize the rather long-winded explanation that she'd just been given, and that was when the Jarl laughed out loud.

"You won't turn back from your mission, even considering how hopeless it looks." Jarl Balgruuf observed, "I like that. No, my intention was not to give you a list of impossible tasks to perform, young lady. I merely want you to realize how hard it is for me to do what you ask. You have done me a service, it's true, but not as good a service as all that."

"I see." Katie replied, feeling utterly crushed.

"Now, now." Jarl Balgruuf replied with a smile, noticing the disappointed look on her face, "I never said no. I might even dare such a bold expedition as that, but in exchange, you'll need to do something for me, if you can. I want you to come up with an idea or a plan for a means to protect my people from the dragon. If you can do that, I may start putting something together. Would that suit you?"

"Thank you." Katie replied, although she still didn't feel all that hopeful. She'd never been much good at making plans.

"In the meantime, there's one more thing you might be able to do for me." the Jarl continued, getting up from his throne at last, "Let's go talk to Farengar; my court mage. I heard he had something that he needed a traveler's help to take care of; something dragon-related."

The thought did cheer Katie up just a little bit. She wasn't sure what kind of dragon-related task she was being asked to perform, but if it helped her find the weak point of the dragon, then the Jarl might consider that a sufficient favor, and her mission would be complete. Still, it was only a slight hope. She was pretty sure that it wouldn't really be that easy.

Pretty soon, the Jarl had lead Katie into a side room, to the right of the throne room, and standing right there, in the midst of some odd-looking tables, was a man dressed in deep purple robes; apparently some kind of wizard. The thought made Katie a little antsy in spite of herself. She'd never trusted wizards all that much, and that man; whose name was apparently Farengar, looked especially unpleasant. Unlike the pictures of wizards she'd often seen in books, Farengar didn't have a beard, and worse, there was a sort of avaricious and proud look in his eyes.

"Farengar," the Jarl said, "I've brought someone who might be able to help you with your dragon project."

Then, without another word to either of them, the Jarl turned on his heel to return to his throne, leaving Katie alone with the wizard, which didn't exactly thrill her; especially when he started to speak.

"Fine. If the Jarl thinks you can do this, I'll trust his judgment. I assume you've explored dangerous caves before."

"Well, not -explored,- exactly..." Katie replied in a slightly awkward way, "but I had to escape from one. We fought enemy soldiers, archers, spiders, a bear, wo..."

"That'll do." Farengar replied with a wave of his hand, to indicate that she didn't need to explain any further, "Seasoned veterans are expensive, but if you've fought a bear and lived, you might as well be one. I'm sure you wouldn't lie about something like this, since the mission I'm giving you will be incredibly dangerous."

"I'm not lying." Katie replied angrily, however, "I really did fight a bear, with a little h..."

"Fine, fine..." the wizard interrupted her again, nodding his head, "Now, here's what I want from you. I've been trying to recover a stone tablet, which I think was once used as a map of the ancient burial sites of slain dragons. Now, of course, I don't have any proof of where the tablet is, or even if it really exists, but I've heard rumors that it was lost in a place called Bleak Falls Barrow; up the mountain near Riverwood a long time ago. If you go into Bleak Falls Barrow, search the place from top to bottom, and come back either with the tablet, or with the news that it wasn't there, I'll give you a fair payment in exchange, alright?"

Katie didn't feel like she was up to the task of going into any more dangerous caves in the near future, but soon, the wizard was shaking her hand, and turning her back towards the door. It was only then, however, that Katie felt she should ask about the odd tables that Farengar had in his chamber.

"What are those tables for?" she asked, and in response, Farengar donned an even more belittling and arrogant expression.

"The one on the left is the alchemy center. We use them here in Skyrim for convenience, though I'm sure they'll be more widely used in the near future. It combines all the functionality of the cauldron, retort, pestle for grinding ingredients, a lamp for boiling or burning, and a small platform to use as a calcinator. It's a very handy thing for any alchemist to have around. The other is an enchanting table. Enchanters like myself use them to learn enchantments, and attach them to items or clothing, using a soul gem."

"So you're an alchemist -and- an enchanter?" Katie asked.

"I'm also a spellcaster, but yes; I am both of those things. Of all the wizards in Whiterun, I am the most skilled." Farengar explained happily.

It was more than a little tiring talking to someone with such an elevated opinion of themselves, but nevertheless, Katie decided to ask him one more question, at least.

"You said that enchantments could be applied to items. What kinds of items?"

"Any item that you intend to touch or keep on your person." Farengar explained, still happy to demonstrate his knowledge of one of his favorite subjects, "The enchantment has its effect as long as the owner of the enchanted item is touching or wearing it. This is why the most common enchanted items are rings, amulets, weapons, pieces of armor, clothing..."

"Is it possible to enchant a book?" Katie asked, but the moment she'd asked it, she could tell she'd made a mistake. Farengar's self-assured and delighted expression had changed into one of deep suspicion and distrust, and his eyes were narrowing as he gazed into her face.

"Why do you ask?" Farengar inquired, "Have you ever seen one?"

"No." Katie lied quickly, "I just heard a story once, about an enchanted book used by a wizard, and..."

"I've heard the same story." Farengar again interrupted, some part of his smile returning, though he still looked at Katie in some suspicion, "However, I've never seen anyone duplicate that feat, and I've never seen an enchanted book myself. Most wizards think it's an old wives' tale."

"Oh. Okay." Katie just replied. For a moment, she considered asking him if there were any other wizards or alchemists in town, in the hopes of finding one who was friendlier and less selfish, but after only a second, she realized that it wouldn't be a good idea. Farengar was already suspicious of her, and the last thing she wanted to do was ask a bunch of questions that would arouse his suspicions even further. Besides, she could always ask somebody else the very same question; anyone, in fact, who knew their way around Whiterun.

In just a few moments, Katie stepped back outside the Jarl's throne room, feeling the unpleasant gaze of Farengar the wizard following her as she went.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. You can't reply to Ralof while you travel with him. Indeed, you have little or no input with regard to most NPCs in Skyrim. Your personality has no substantial effect on how characters react to you.

2. Whiterun and the surrounding lands are much larger, and have a much bigger population than in the game. This is somewhat unrealistic, in really, all TES games since Daggerfall. Legitimate economies can only thrive in towns with populations of more than a couple dozen. The larger the working population, and the better united they are, the better the economy is. No real town would be as small as the ones in recent TES games, and especially no real city.

3. You can't get into Whiterun by just laughing at how stupid the proclamation of the guards is, but it makes more sense this way, so I'm putting it in.

4. Whiterun is designed very differently than in the game, and has a lot of NPCs and shops not present in the original. It's also much larger; see #2.

5. Jarl Balgruuf and Farengar are much more open to questions than in the actual game, as is everyone, really, and they give far more satisfying answers.


	5. Chapter 5: Whiterun

Chapter 5: Whiterun

* * *

As easy as it had been to find Dragonreach, it proved significantly less easy to find any other place in Whiterun. Fortunately, it was still early afternoon, and people were busy rushing this way and that, running one errand or another. Most of them didn't have time to talk, but one or two people proved to be out for walks, or to enjoy the sun for a few minutes, and Katie was able to get some reliable directions from some of them. She had four main problems, which she wanted to fix before heading out on any new adventures. The first problem was that her helmet, gauntlets and boots were all scraped up, and needed fixing. Also, she was tired of using an axe, and wanted to get her hands on a new spear, and maybe a shield to go with it. All of that would involve the help of a blacksmith, and soon, she'd gotten directions to one of the local ones, who worked just off the main road, near the entrance to town, among a selection of shops. It was called "Warmaiden's."

The second problem that Katie was eager to solve was that her clothes, like her armor, were torn up and battered; almost to the point of being unusable, and she wanted to find a tailor who could make her some new ones. Again, she was able to get directions to one, who had a shop near the far east end of town, called "the golden needle," which was past the center of town and down a side road lined with wealthy-looking stores.

Katie's third problem wasn't really a problem, but rather, a question that she wanted answered. She wanted to meet with an alchemist who could be trusted, and talk about the bottle and book she'd found, in the hopes of unlocking their secrets, and maybe buy a few more healing potions while she was at it. Fortunately, a very nice alchemy shop called "Arcadia's Cauldron" was set up right near the center of town, with an awning out in front, in full view of the large well around which most of the buildings of that section of the city had been built.

As it turned out, the solution to Katie's fourth problem was down the road from that well, less than a hundred yards, and only slightly off to one side, traveling away from the main gates. It was an inn, bar and restaurant named "The Bannered Mare."

Katie actually thought of stopping at the Bannered Mare for a quick meal first, but the truth was that she wanted to be able to enjoy dinner, considering how long it had been since she'd had a full meal, and she could hardly enjoy dinner, knowing that she still had a bunch of errands to run, so she decided to stop off at Warmaiden's first.

Warmaiden's was a fairly simple blacksmith's shop, very similar, Katie though as she slipped inside, to the one that she'd lived in for most of her life. Like her father's house, Warmaiden's was a reasonably small place with a business hall, which had a counter to do business at, a back room and an upper floor. However, Warmaiden's was also a little different from her home. For one thing, weapons and armor were not only hung on every wall, but displayed on tables as well, throughout the entire business hall, and from what Katie could tell, those display models, and whatever was behind the counter represented their entire stock of weapons and armor. The upper floor and back room, however big they might have been, weren't used as storage space. She could tell that because as she entered, someone left the upstairs bedroom, marched downstairs and entered the back room briefly, telling her that he'd be back in just a minute. That was when she got the chance to get a good look at the inside of both of the other rooms, and not even a glint of metal could be seen in either one.

However, as interesting as the many weapons and armor pieces were, the man who'd walked past Katie just then was even more interesting, because he was the one person she'd met so far, who really did look the the pictures of nords, which she'd seen in books back home. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a thick, black beard and rough, calloused hands. His build was one of the most powerful that she'd ever seen, and she wondered, for a moment, if it would be in good taste to ask him to arm-wrestle her. However, he also had a large, two-handed warhammer strapped to his back, which must have made robberies somewhat infrequent in that shop.

What Katie found distressing, however, as she looked over the many bladed weapons, all over the walls, was that she couldn't find any spears. Some weapons were as large as double-edged battle axes, and others were a small as daggers, but spears seemed to be out of stock.

Fortunately, the large nord with the warhammer did return before too long, taking up his position behind the counter, although he wasn't smiling as he did so. Apparently, he found something either worrying or disturbing, and that was making him uncomfortable, even as Katie placed her axe on the counter with a clunk.

"How do you do, miss?" the nord behind the counter asked, though he still didn't smile, "The name's Ulfberth War-Bear."

"Katie." she replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm actually here for a few things. First, I want to sell this."

The nord lifted the axe that she'd placed on the counter after just a moment, looking it over, and turning it around in his hand, then picking it up behind the counter and waving it a bit, once it was out of Katie's way.

"It's got some scratches, but those can be mended. It's still well-balanced, though, and as effective a weapon as ever, I'm sure."

"I'm sure." Katie replied sadly, "I just don't know anything about how to use it."

"In that case," Ulfberth continued, putting the axe behind the counter and handing Katie a handful of gold coins in exchange, "can I interest you in anything else? Perhaps something you're more familiar with?"

"I hope so." she said, smiling a little in the hopes that Ulfberth would, though it didn't really work, "I'm looking for a spear, if you have one."

For a moment, Ulfberth's expression contorted and wrinkled, and he actually seemed to be lost in deep thought, but finally, he shook his head.

"I've heard of them, miss, but never crafted one. I don't even think... Well, I don't think my wife has ever made one before either. They're not often seen in Skyrim."

Katie was starting to feel very disappointed, but then, Ulfberth continued speaking, and his words gave her just a slight glimmer of hope.

"Still, she loves a challenge. Why don't you just tell me how you hold a spear, and how you use it, and we'll see if we can't come up with something, hmmm?"

"Well, the spear is sometimes held in two hands, although it can be held in just one, leaving room in the other hand for a shield. The main point of using a spear is that it gives you the chance to jab from a distance, and if you put all your force into the jab, it can even pierce some kinds of armor. Most spears have wooden handles, although to be honest, I'd prefer something a little stronger if possible."

"How long should the handle be?" Ulfberth asked, and Katie had to stop and think before answering that question.

"I guess about six feet long would be fine, plus however long the blade is." Katie concluded, "I've heard of spears that went up to thirteen feet long, and could still be used in just one hand, but that wouldn't be practical in my case."

"Planning on leaning into it when you attack?"

"Um... yes."

"Alright." Ulfberth replied, finally smiling, as if he'd just been given some key information about the situation, which he'd been worried he might not receive, "We'll see what we can do. Anything else we can help with?"

"Yes. My armor's kind of a wreck too." Katie said, starting to feel a little nervous, but in response, Ulfberth pointed to an empty spot on one of the tables in a corner of the room.

"Just leave your armor on that table there, and we'll have it repaired for you by tomorrow morning." he said, apparently starting to get a little nervous again, for some reason, "Anything else?"

"Yes..." Katie decided aloud, "Do you happen to have any body armor that would fit me?"

In just another second, Ulfberth was frowning again, and Katie's own frown followed just a moment later. That, it seemed, had been the request that he'd been worried about receiving.

"I'm sure I could design something like that..." Ulfberth thought aloud as he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, "It would take more materials that usual, and you'd need to decide in advance what kind of armor you want. Still, I'm sure I could do it in a few hours at the forge. The only thing is... I'm afraid it'll be expensive. It's the materials, you see..."

That was when Katie looked into her money bag, and counted up how much she had left. She did have enough money for the repairs, and for a new spear. The problem was that she wasn't going to have more than a few gold pieces left over after that, which wasn't anywhere near enough for the armor that she needed, so for the moment, she gave up on the idea, and soon, she was leaving Warmaiden's, feeling pretty disappointed.

* * *

Katie was standing outside of the armor shop for a few minutes after that, thinking her options over. Considering how much she'd just spent, it was pretty unlikely that she'd even have enough left for a room for the night, much less new clothes or help from a professional alchemist. Still, she eventually decided that her best bet would be to just head to the Bannered Mare and see if she had enough for a night's rest, and give up on the new clothes and alchemy for the moment. It was a hard decision to have to make, but soon, she was trudging uphill through town in the direction of the most popular local inn.

* * *

Sure enough, as Katie stepped inside, the place did seem pretty popular. The main room of the inn was a combination restaurant and bar, with a door in the back; apparently to serve as some kind of private meeting room, a door to the side that led into the kitchen, and some thick, wooden stairs leading up to the second floor. The main area of the room had at least a dozen small tables and five larger ones, as well as a fire pit in the center with some benches arranged around it, at just enough of a distance to make any danger from flying sparks impossible, but still close enough that newcomers could warm themselves easily at the blaze.

Furthermore, unlike Warmaiden's, which seemed to be mainly a small, family shop, run by two people, the Bannered Mare was staffed by six. Three young waitresses; two of whom were almost as tall as Katie, and one of whom was barely taller than a child, were walking from table to table, carrying tempting drinks and wonderful-smelling food. There was also a man standing up near the fire, singing and playing a lyre near one of the many pillars that supported the building's ceiling. Then, of course, there was the bartender, who was shorter than Katie, but not by more than a few inches, and probably about fifty pounds heavier than the waitresses, who all looked pretty thin. Katie suspected that she was probably the owner of the inn as well. There was also a redguard woman in the kitchen, preparing food.

Still, as many people as there were, working in that place, there were even more enjoying good meals and mead. People were sitting on the benches, at the tables, at the bar and so forth, all listening to the bard and enjoying their food or drink, with the exception of one or two groups of people, who were talking with each other in hushed voices, so-as not to disturb the bard. That didn't make a whole lot of sense to Katie, but she decided to save those questions for some other time, and proceeded over to the bar to talk with the woman who, she judged, was probably the innkeeper.

However, as she was heading over to the bar, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. There was a man, sitting in a corner of the room in a robe made from black wool. A sword hung from his side, and he had a thick beard and bushy hair, both of which were as black as night. His eyes were also black; as though they had no color at all, and both of them were trained on an armored figure in the center of the room, as though studying him. Katie soon found that she was asking herself why she was worried about him, but for some reason, she was. There was just something about the black-robed figure that bothered her; as though he were trying to conceal something under that robe of his; some weapon or something. It was hard to place the feeling.

Still, after several seconds, the robed man showed no signs of getting up, or even moving at all, so Katie turned to face the innkeeper, who, unlike the black-robed man, was starting to stare at her in what looked like amazement.

"Hi. My name's Katie." the larger woman said, introducing herself.

"You can call me Hulda." the innkeeper replied, though she still seemed to be having a hard time looking Katie in the eye.

"This is my first time here, and I'm wondering what the rate is for a stay in one of your rooms tonight." Katie explained, but the answer that she got made her smile diminish very rapidly.

"I suppose that depends on the kind of room you want. We have basic, small rooms with a table and one-person wooden bed for ten gold a night. Not the best accommodations. For another five a night, we have cozy rooms, which are a little bigger, and with a larger bed. We clean those better and more often. Then there are the royal suites, which cost twenty-five a night. Those have very comfortable beds, a table and a wardrobe, and plenty of floor space with a throw rug in the middle. We clean those rooms after every customer who uses them."

Katie had to swallow when she heard that. They were cheap rates; uncommonly so, and that probably accounted for some of their popularity. Still, it was beyond her price range, which amounted to three gold pieces or so.

"Well..." Katie replied a bit bashfully, "I've got a little money, but..."

However, as she trailed off in embarrassment, Hulda started smiling, apparently having come up with an idea.

"How's your arm strength?" Hulda asked, her smile growing more and more sly as she looked at the newcomer.

"Well, I recently threw an armed soldier into the air with them..." Katie admitted, not meaning to brag, though it had probably come out that way.

"In that case, how would you feel about working for a living?" Hulda asked, "I've got a special job that needs doing, and we need somebody strong to take care of it."

Katie still wasn't smiling, however.

"You're not going to ask me to go delving in some dangerous barrow dungeon, are you?"

At that point, Hulda really laughed, and Katie felt herself relaxing just a bit in response.

"Oh, don't be silly!" the bartender replied with a smile, "It's just that I pay the woodcutters to drop wood off next to the inn, but they never chop it into usable firewood."

"Hey!" Katie exclaimed, suddenly realizing what Hulda was suggesting, "I used to chop firewood all the time at my dad's forge!"

"Sounds good." Hulda replied, "We're almost out in here, and it takes quite a bit to keep the firepit -and- the stove going, so bring me a few piles of the stuff, and I'll give you some gold. How does that sound?"

"Right up my alley! Thanks!" Katie exclaimed as she rushed for the door and in just another moment, she'd left the Bannered Mare, and the sounds of methodical chopping could be heard from outside.

* * *

"Right there." the bartender said, still smiling in amazement, "Yes, on top. Good. Excellent. I'm amazed you got so much done."

"Yeah..." Katie replied with a smile of her own as she put the last few logs at the very top of the stack, though she was starting to get very hungry, "It looked like a big job, but when you stack of few logs on top of each other, you can sometimes get them all in one swing. It goes faster that way."

Hulda still whistled at the very thought of anyone being able to chop through more than one log in a single swing. She'd tried to cut wood before herself, and usually, she wound up getting the axe stuck in the wood. She told Katie as much a moment later, when she handed her the money.

Katie was amazed by the amount that Hulda had given her that evening, however. Apparently, refilling the wood wall, as she called it, in the kitchen, was a big job, and merited a large reward. The reward that she received that night was more than six hundred gold pieces in exchange for all of that wood. She could barely believe it. It was more than enough for a few good meals and a bed to sleep in, and maybe enough for some new clothes and alchemy advice too, she hoped. Still, as much money as it was, it was less than what she'd need for decent body armor of any sort. Even basic iron armor, built to her proportions, would have cost almost three times that much.

Still, she decided, everybody had dreams that went unfulfilled from time to time, and that was alright. In a few more moments, she'd left the Bannered Mare, saying goodbye to Hulda as she left, and promising to return later in the evening. She didn't even stay for lunch. She was too excited, and eager to get the rest of her errands done.

* * *

The sign outside of the tailor's shop had read "The Golden Needle. Sewing, tailoring and refitting by Jonus Cartorus; tailor." It seemed to explain almost everything that needed explaining, but when Katie actually looked in one of the windows, she started to feel disheartened. Jonus was apparently a very successful tailor, as he had several life-sized, wooden dummies propped up throughout the store, wearing clothing that he must have made, from plain tunics and kitchen dresses, to intricately-woven vest suits and magnificent gowns. It all looked very expensive. However, when she actually stepped into the shop, she began to realize that what she'd seen through the window had been just the tip of the iceberg.

The store was divided into over a dozen sections, and each section seemed to showcase peasant clothes, robes, finery and everything in between, from one of the countries of Tamriel. There were dark elf clothes from Morrowind, redguard clothing that was almost an exact replica of the kind worn by both peasants and lords in Hammerfell, and warm, furry clothes in various styles right in the center of the store. The selection that Katie had seen through the window had been only the imperial section. Whoever Jonus was, he was clearly an uncommon master of his art, and it was no wonder that he was so popular in Whiterun.

Then, he emerged. A broad-shouldered imperial with fiery, red hair, dressed in a fine suit with a vest, and wearing a hat with a long brim, like the picture of the mage's apprentice that Katie had sometimes seen in books. She could tell it was him, because he was holding a rope in one hand, with black markings on it, and she'd often seen such things used to measure people for clothing in the past. He'd been talking to another customer when he stepped out from behind a stack of clothes, and nearly walked right into her, stopping himself just in time.

For several seconds, the two just stared at each other, openmouthed. Katie had never seen an outfit like his before; not with the sleeveless vest, worn over another shirt, and hats like his were rare. He was, in some ways, an unusual sight. Yet, she realized after just a few seconds, she must have been even more surprising to him.

"Oh... Oh..." Jonus stammered briefly. He'd been looking Katie up and down for several seconds, and in the very same moment that she regained her composure, he struggled to regain his.

"Oh, my." Jonus finally blurted out, not sounding sad, or angry, or happy, or disappointed, or fearful, or eager, or anything else except stunned for several seconds, and by the time he was able to wipe the expression from his face, his eyes had been fixed on Katie's for a few seconds.

"Uh... I mean welcome to the Golden Needle, miss." Jonus said at last, forcing a smile, though he really looked conflicted, "What can I get you today?"

Katie, however, was used to being the center of attention, and didn't mind it in the least, so she just moved on to business, hoping that the poor imperial; who was shorter than her, as well as obviously a great deal lighter, would feel better after a successful transaction.

"Katie. Nice to meet you. See, the problem is, I've been having an argument with a bear, some wolves, some spiders, and almost a dozen soldiers, and it's kind of demolished my clothes."

She held her arms out as she was explaining, showing the various torn, cut and worn out parts of her outfit. Jonus seemed to be recovering as she explained the problem, fortunately, so she continued.

"I just need some replacement clothes, please. A shirt, some real shoes, and preferably a long skirt, although pants would be alright too, I guess. I plan to do a lot of hiking."

She was smiling the whole time that she explained herself, because Jonus was looking more and more relieved, and paying more and more attention to every move she made as she spoke.

"Right. Sounds simple enough." Jonus replied, "I don't have anything ready just yet, I'm afraid, but I can scrape something together in a few hours, if you'd like."

"What would the price be?" Katie asked a moment later, however, dreading the answer.

"Well, for a whole outfit in simple style, factoring in costs of materials and stitches, patterning, sewing and general labor, I could probably fix something up for you for about thirty-five gold. On the other hand, if you want a real surprise, you can make it seventy-five, and I'll give you something special. Sound interesting?"

Katie had to admit that it did, and for the moment, she had the money, so she paid him, took some measurements of herself with his rope, and left the Golden Needle in just a few moments, though for some reason, she felt like she was being watched for quite a while after that.

* * *

It was only about noon by the time Katie reached the shop labeled "Arcadia's Cauldron," and slipped inside. The place was a bit different from the homes and shops that she was used to seeing; mainly because of the large fire in the center of the front room, but at least it kept the place warm. It was a large, wooden building with thick rope strung along the walls, and many dozens of shelves, both on walls and on bookcases, filled with plant leaves, powders and bottles containing multicolored liquid. Across one side of the room, there was a large, wooden counter, sporting even more plants, powders and potions, and at the far end of the room was the same kind of alchemy center that she'd seen in Farengar's room. Behind the counter, apparently minding her shop, though there didn't seem to be any other customers, was a very bored-looking, thin, brown-haired imperial woman, wearing a casual dress and a brown apron. She almost seemed to snap to attention when Katie entered, as if she'd never expected a customer. Katie wasn't sure what to say.

"I hope I'm not interrupting..." Katie remarked a bit nervously, although the woman; apparently Arcadia, looked almost frantic when she said that.

"No! No, no. I'm not busy, as I'm sure you can see. Come on in. Can I interest you in a poultice? A potion perhaps? Maybe a nice medicine? Even if you're not sick right now, you never know what you might catch out there in the wild."

Katie felt pretty bad for the young lady. She was, after all, a potionmaker, and they tended to be unwelcome in lands like Skyrim, which largely rejected magic. It was clear that she was having a hard time doing business in Whiterun, so after just a moment, Katie pulled three hundred of her remaining gold pieces out and poured them on the counter. Arcadia looked like her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

"I don't have much; just this and enough for a meal and a good night's sleep." Katie explained as the alchemist stared at the coins in astonishment, "It's yours. In exchange, I want you to give me something that won't cost you a cent; information."

Arcadia was beginning to look a little suspicious of her new visitor, but her expression changed quickly, as though she were experiencing some inner deliberation, and at last, she said "Why don't you tell me what you want to know first, and then we'll see if I can help you."

Katie, however, was starting to distrust the alchemist just a bit, and briefly considered taking her money back. After all, the reason she hadn't asked Farengar any of her questions was that she was sure he would have taken an unhealthy interest in her book and bottle, and maybe even tried to take them. That would have been simply horrible, since then, how would she find out what had happened to her during those three months that she couldn't remember? No, she needed answers about her alchemy book, and that meant that she needed an alchemist who she could trust.

"I'll tell you what I can." Katie said evasively, "Before coming to Skyrim, I lost about three months of my life."

"Lost?" Arcadia asked, taking a sudden interest, "Lost how?"

"I was walking through the forest, and then suddenly, I was waking up three months later."

"Sounds like memory loss to me." Arcadia observed, "Is that why you came to me? Curing memory loss would be a new trick for me."

"No." Katie replied, "I have a clue about what might have happened to me. When I woke up, I had two special items on my person, but before I show them to you, I need you to promise that you won't try to take them, or tell anyone about them; especially Farengar. I don't trust him. Alright?"

Arcadia looked puzzled for a few seconds, but at last, she just nodded her head, and in a moment, Katie had removed the bottle from her bag, followed shortly by the book. The bottle was quite a spectacle by itself; casting light in all directions, as though it recognized the various alchemy ingredients that were present, and that alone seemed to have drawn Arcadia's most intense scrutiny, but she seemed even more interested when Katie produced the book.

In only a moment, the book was in Arcadia's hands, and she was looking at its blank, brown cover in interest, but the moment she opened it, and began to turn its pages, a look of surprise and exasperation crossed her face.

"What is it?" Katie asked, starting to feel confused, "What's wrong?"

However, Arcadia didn't reply with words. Instead, she simply turned the book around, and began turning pages again. There, on every single page, there was the same sentence, written in large, bold letters.

"I am not yours. Return me at once."

Katie almost wanted to laugh, but she was terrified, because suddenly, the book seemed to have gained some form of bizarre personality, as though it were alive. However, just as Arcadia placed the book back in Katie's hands, releasing it, the words on the page changed again, this time to a more helpful series of sentences, describing some of the properties of the ingredients in front of her on the counter.

"Orange Dartwing." the book read, "Dartwings are acquired from orange dragonflies. When captured and killed, each yields a maximum of two good dartwings. Though known to be poisonous, dartwings may be usable in several simple potion recipes, and at least three recipes of the more complex variety. The first thing to remember about the dartwing is to distill it, using a retort if one wishes to separate its poisonous qualities from its helpful ones. Once this is done..."

Katie had only read that far, but she felt it was only fair to turn the book around, and show it to Arcadia. The moment she did so, the alchemist gasped, holding one hand up, as though she was afraid of the book. However, she quickly recovered her composure, and rushed over to a nearby bookcase, where a number of her own books were kept. Arcadia grabbed a book from the bottom shelf and began flipping through it carelessly, until she let out a brief, high-pitched cry, and rushed back over to the counter with her book.

"You're not an enchanter, are you?" she asked Katie.

"Of course not. I've never enchanted anything before."

"In that case, someone else enchanted that book for you, intending for you to use it. It clearly recognizes you as its proper master."

Katie's head was spinning. She had no idea what Arcadia was talking about, but it sounded like the alchemist had some answers.

"Listen to this," the imperial said, starting to read from the book that she'd just retrieved from the shelf, "the lost art of enchanting a book. Though the feat cannot now be replicated, many ancient records refer to master mages, who preserved their magic through the use of enchanted books, which could only be properly read by their masters, without a great deal of magic and effort. No more is known about the enchanted books than this, but it may be supposed that they were once used to store many kinds of knowledge, and certain ancient legends across three nations refer to an amateur, unlocking the secrets of such a book by accident, in his dabbling."

"There you are." Arcadia replied, putting down her book on the counter with a smile, "There's your explanation for what this book is. My guess would be that both the book and bottle are the remnants of some master wizard's life's work, and you stumbled upon them by accident, but the fact that the book clearly recognizes you as its master is strange. You're not an ancient, legendary wizard, obviously. As I said, I'm sure that someone enchanted this book and bottle, intending for you to use it. The only question is; who and why?"

Needless to say, Katie was speechless. The revelation that what she'd been carrying for the last several days was some kind of long lost magic was pretty troubling by itself, but from the sounds of things, Arcadia didn't have any real answers to give beyond that.

"But isn't there anything else that you can tell me?" Katie asked, determined to get as much information as she could, "Isn't there some way to figure out what the wizard or whoever wanted me to do with these things?"

"My guess is, you're expected to learn alchemy with them." Arcadia suggested with a shrug, "As for the rest, I can't say much. Maybe the wizard was your mentor, and wanted to help you. Then again, maybe it was an evil wizard, and using the book will just make you easier for him to control. There's no telling. Still, I suppose you'll find out if you just keep using the book, either way."

For a moment, a deep feeling of fear started rising in Katie's heart as she listened to Arcadia's best guesses about the purpose of the book, but she'd soon banished it in determination. No matter what happened, she decided, she wanted answers. She wanted to know why she'd been missing from her village during the dragon attack, and why her parents had almost been killed, and those two items were her only clue. Then and there, Katie made her decision. Aside from doing everything she could to get the help that her father had requested, nothing was going to get in the way of her learning the secrets of that book, and it was with that firm commitment it mind that she asked her next question.

"In that case, I need your help figuring out how to use the book." Katie said, but Arcadia was smiling a little sheepishly when she replied to that.

"I don't know much of anything about enchanted books." the alchemist said, "Just what I've told you already."

"That's not what I mean." Katie replied, however, putting the book down again among the ingredients, and watching words fade into existence on its pages, "I mean, a lot of these recipes refer to alchemy tools I'm not familiar with and don't have. Look."

For a moment, Arcadia looked at the page describing the orange dartwing ingredient, and started chuckling to herself.

"Yes." she replied a moment later, "This recipe is antiquated. We don't usually use old-style retorts anymore, and you shouldn't need an extra bottle if you want to make a potion like this one. We just take the ingredients to an alchemy station and prepare them there. If you want, I can show you."

"I don't know..." Katie said, however, hesitating for a moment, "The recipe says a retort. Don't you have one I could use?"

Arcadia looked a little amused by the objection, but she just shrugged her shoulders and stepped across the room, opening a door, which apparently led into a large closet. After looking through it for a few moments, she managed to produce five small devices, which she laid out on the counter of her shop. The first was a small bowl with a tiny club in it; apparently a mortar and pestle. The second was a sort of raised bottle with a place under it for a small fire to be lit. The third was a metal bowl of some kind, with another brazier positioned underneath it. The fourth seemed to be a pair of glass containers, connected by a sort of elaborate tube. Finally, there was a sort of spare brazier, with a thin grating underneath it, which emptied into a jar attached to the bottom.

"This one is a retort." Arcadia explained, pointing to the second apparatus, "I've never needed to use it, though. The stations make potions just as well."

"Do you have any empty bottles?" Katie asked, undeterred as she set up the retort and picked up the dartwing, with Arcadia's permission. It was only then, however, that the alchemist really gave in, and decided to follow through with her visitor's plan. It seemed that the discovery of the book had inspired a great professional curiosity in Arcadia, and she was pulling some dartwings from behind the counter and walking over to the alchemy station that she apparently used to make her own potions.

"Listen. I'll let you try one recipe. Just one." the alchemist said as she started working with the station, grinding up the dartwings and preparing them for potionmixing, "I'm going to try the same basic thing, but with a normal alchemy station."

"Is this some kind of competition?" Katie asked, feeling a little worried as Arcadia spoke, but she needn't have worried so much.

"It's more like an experiment." the alchemist said, smiling broadly, and clearly having more fun than she had in years, "I've never seen an enchanted book before, and I'd like to see what it can do. Show me the recipes from that book, and I'll show you mine, alright?"

That was all Katie needed to hear. In moments, she was working with the retort, studying her book carefully, to make sure that she got every step absolutely right.

As expected, distilling the dartwing was only the first step in the process. The distilled dartwing then needed to be put over a brazier and turned into dartwing ash, then ground up into a fine powder, and mixed into a bottle of water. A second ingredient was then added; fresh honey from a honeycomb. The remaining wax was then cut up, piece by piece, with a knife, and added to the mixture in pieces no larger than a sliver. After that, the bottle needed to be placed on the brazier again until the mixture inside began to boil. Then Katie carefully removed it from the flame.

Arcadia had finished mixing her own potion almost five minutes earlier, and was watching the delicate operation in interest through every stage of it. Still, Katie was determined to mix her potion by the book, so to speak, and at last, when the potion had cooled enough, it began to adopt a sort of sickly, green color, very similar to the one in Arcadia's bottle. Katie was exhausted, however, and set the potion aside as she turned off the stand-alone brazier, as well as the one under the retort.

"Tired?" Arcadia asked, still smiling as she spoke.

"I feel like I'm about to collapse." Katie replied, though it was gratifying, she thought, to see that her potion was finally complete.

"Now, if I'm right," Arcadia explained, holding her own potion in one hand, and picking up Katie's with the other, "this should be a potion for energizing the body. You take a sip of mine, and I'll take a sip of yours, and let's see what happens, alright?"

It sounded like a lot of fun, so Katie sipped the potion that Arcadia had prepared, and was astonished to find that not only had some of her old energy returned, but the bottle that the potion had been contained in had actually grown a little smaller. Katie had never seen a bottle change size like that. Hers never did, after all, but Arcadia looked even more surprised after taking a sip from Katie's magic bottle, and watching the level of the liquid inside of it decrease. Her eyes shot open all the way, and her mouth hung open in shock.

"What?" Katie asked, "What is it?"

"Th-th-this p-p-potion is..." Arcadia stuttered, her eyelids seeming to pulse, and her pupils changing size as she looked back at the bottle. Quickly, Katie took the bottle from the alchemist, giving the potion inside of it a little sniff.

Instantly, she could feel vast energy like nothing she'd ever felt before, charging through every muscle of her body like mad. She almost never ran anywhere, but she suddenly felt like running a hundred miles; leaping, jumping, climbing and waving her arms! She felt like sprinting through the forest and rolling over on the midday grass. It was like nothing she'd ever felt; all from just one whiff of the stuff.

Quickly, Katie put the crystal stopper back into her bottle, as Arcadia ran to one of the nearby shelves of her store, pulling off a series of bottles until she found a dark green one, and began drinking from it. After several seconds, Arcadia discarded the empty bottle, and slumped back against a wall, breathing very hard, and looking like she'd just run a marathon. It was several moments before she was able to speak coherently.

"I've never tasted a stamina potion that strong." Arcadia gasped in astonishment, "I don't understand. Your alchemy experience is clearly inferior to mine. Could it really be all those extra preparations you did for the ingredients? Let me see that recipe."

So, for the next half hour, the alchemist read over Katie's shoulder, since the book would only reveal its secrets while she, and no one else was touching it. The alchemist managed to copy down a few recipes into one of her own blank books, as well as some instructions on the proper use of retorts, pestles and braziers. Finally, she slumped down into a chair, looking as though the effect of the stamina potion had finally worn off, leaving her drained. Still, she had something more to say to Katie before the traveler left.

"I'd say you're doing well so far, following the instructions in that book." Arcadia observed, "I wish I had an advantage like yours. Keep practicing alchemy as best you can. Use the bottle to find ingredients, and the book to figure out what they're good for. After a while, you may get some decent experience in this field, and you might not even need the book anymore."

However, Katie still had one more question.

"The book refers to several simple recipes, and at least three complex ones, but only one recipe for the orange dartwing is listed." she noted curiously, "Do you know why that is?"

"Maybe." Arcadia replied, "Remember, this is an enchanted book we're talking about. Words appear and vanish from its pages for a number of different reasons. Maybe it's just not ready to tell you about the other recipes yet. Read whatever else it has to say, and maybe it'll have something new to teach you, before long."

Katie found herself nodding, and just a moment later, was about to leave, when Arcadia seemed to have remembered something important, and quickly spoke up again.

"Also, if you ever need ingredients, be sure to come back and visit. Believe me; it'll be nice to have a regular customer, and as I said, this book gives you a big advantage at our craft. I'd encourage you to keep practicing."

However, there was no longer any risk that Katie would neglect her book or bottle. She still didn't really trust alchemy, or even the book, but she was committed to practice it, because for all she knew, it was the only way that she had of getting answers.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. In Skyrim, unlike in previous TES games, armor doesn't experience wear, and requires no maintenance. I put that back in for this story, because it just makes no sense to remove this realistic function of armor from the game.

2. Warmaiden's can't make you a spear, and you can't ask them to.

3. Hulda is heavier in this story than in the game, in which she looks just the same as every other pin-up... uh... I mean female character in the game.

4. Woodcutting and log selling is possible in the game itself, but unrealistically, Hulda keeps buying it from you at the same rate, no matter how much you cut.

5. Jonus Cartorus is a new character; unique to this story, and his shop, the Golden Needle, is also new; the name being a slight homage to one of my favorite video games.

6. Arcadia doesn't train you in this manner in the game, doesn't practice potions with you, and doesn't give you the chance to use more portable alchemy apparati. They don't exist in Skyrim, and this is one thing about Skyrim Alchemy that my character rebels against.


	6. Chapter 6: Patience

Chapter 6: Patience

* * *

As she'd predicted, most of the remaining money that Katie had left from her woodcutting job went into food, drink and a warm bed for that night; particularly since she decided that it would be best to pay a few extra gold for the royal suite, and she wasn't disappointed. The drinks were delicious, the food was filling and tasty, and the bed was one of the most comfortable that she'd ever slept in. The one thing that bothered her was that bard, who kept singing as people ate. She had some problems with him and his whole style of singing, but didn't raise a fuss over it that first night, or the following morning, when she left the Bannered Mare and headed down the road of Whiterun with just enough money left in her pocket to pay the blacksmith.

Ulfberth looked a little tired that morning, but he'd done all the work that Katie had asked him to do. Her armor was not only repaired; it actually looked a little better than it had when she'd first found it. She was more surprised, however, by the spear.

The spear had been expensive to make; special projects often are, but Katie was still amazed by the job that Ulfberth and his wife had done on it. It was the very size and length that she's asked for, with a sharp, two-edged spearhead on the end, which would make not only an excellent jabbing weapons, but would cut things when swung as well. There were grips along the handle too, making it easy to grab onto the spear in a number of different spots. However, what really amazed Katie was that the entire handle was made, not of wood; but of a very strong, firm metal of some kind, which resembled tempered steel. Try as she might, Katie couldn't bend it, even when she braced it against the floor, and leaned against it. It was everything she could have asked for, although for sentimental reasons, she did miss the one that her father had given her. Needless to say, Ulfberth got his money.

However, the big surprise was still to come, as Katie stepped into the Golden Needle at almost nine o'clock in the morning. She hadn't been sure what to expect from Jonus after their last meeting had started and ended so awkwardly, but she certainly hadn't been expecting the whole first four yards of the store to have been rearranged. The imperial and dark elf clothes were still in basically the same place, but the wooden dummies that displayed some of them had been moved back, and a thick, wooden display board had been erected in their place, with the paths through the store branching off in two directions around it. The sight of that display board took Katie's breath away almost completely when she saw it.

It looked as though a master weaver had just gone to town, designing a dozen different outfits, all based around her unique shape and size, and most of which didn't even look as though they had seams. There was a purple shirt and a pair of pants of a color that was only slightly darker spread out across the left side of the board, and a bright blue wizard's robe on the floor beneath that, along with some very thick, blue boots, designed to match her feet. Just to the side of those was a dark green shirt and an even darker green jacket with brown fur trimmings, and below those, thick, brown pants and boots. These were followed by a series of belts, satchels and pouches that actually looked like they would be useful, and last of all, there was a green casual dress and brown apron, very similar to the one that Arcadia had been wearing. Each outfit came with its own set of matching shoes and gloves, and, Katie was amazed to see, each was designed for a different function. One was a mage's outfit, one a hiking outfit with optional warm coat, one a casual dress, and the last one a casual shirt and trousers.

However, in just a second, there was Jonus, carrying another large pouch, attached to another leather strap, and when he saw her, a nervous look came into his face again. She wasn't sure why. He'd obviously outdone himself, and made good on his promise to give her something special. She'd only been expecting one nice outfit; not a beautiful selection like that. Still, she let him speak first.

"It's... uh... That should be all of it, Miss Katie." he said, apparently struggling to keep up his smile as he continued to stare, but those words sent a chill of awe through she as she pondered their meaning.

"Wait a minute!" she exclaimed in amazement, "Are you saying I can keep them all?"

"Well... Well, yes. Of course. You paid full price. But, you may want to try some of them out, to be certain that they're comfortable."

Of course, Katie was delighted to be receiving such a wonderful deal; not just a large selection of clothes for various occasions, but some extra bags to carry them in. She did, however, spend a few minutes in the closed-off rooms in the back of the shop, trying the different outfits on, and found that they were not only comfortable, but miraculously-so. Not one was even an inch too small or too large, and as she'd suspected, they didn't have any seams; at least not in noticeable places. There was no question about it. Jonus Cartorus was either the greatest clothesmaker who Katie had ever met, or else a wizard of some kind, and she made sure to tell him so on the way out. After that, he gave her the usual pitch about how she should return if she was ever in need again, but she could tell that her compliments had made him very happy.

* * *

By the time that Katie left Whiterun, it was almost 9:30, and she was feeling a lot better, in spite of her failure to get any help for her village, or any definite answers about the three months she'd lost. She'd met a lot of nice people, and gotten a lot of help from them. Whatever else it may have been, Whiterun seemed like a friendly sort of place, and it had given Katie some hope, which was what she really needed as she left town by the main gates, heading off across the plains in the direction of Riverwood; the direction of Bleak Falls Barrow.

* * *

Ralof had briefly pointed out Bleak Falls Barrow to Katie while the two had been on the way to Riverwood, or rather, he'd briefly pointed out the mountain that it was located on. That narrowed down the number of places where Katie would need to look for the place, so she started out at once, searching for a spot where the path would take her up the mountain. After all, she was no kind of mountainclimber, and she knew that perfectly well. Either she would find Bleak Falls Barrow along the path, or she wouldn't, and would turn back for Riverwood to get directions and give Gerdur the news about what Jarl Balgruuf had said.

The path from Whiterun went quite some distance towards Riverwood without a single break or fork; almost up to the very gates, in fact. However, as Katie reached the stone bridge just outside of Riverwood, she noticed a fork in the path, just behind a nearby boulder, which went up the foothills of the mountain in a winding path before turning towards the peak, to the west.

The path went on for a long ways, though fortunately, it wasn't a very difficult commute. The toughest thing about it, for the longest time, was a wolf that leapt out to attack, but its teeth only glanced off of Katie once, before the creature had fallen to her spear, and she continued on her way, until the path became rocky, and the grass was covered in snow. Sure enough, the path had taken her right up the mountain, and into a minor snowfall. It continued going straight for quite some distance, but even through the snow, Katie was starting to notice some kind of structure in the distance; a tower of some sort.

Of course, it had gotten colder and colder as she'd gone up the mountain, so that was her cue to get her fur-lined coat out and put it on, still marveling at just how cozy it felt, even in cold surroundings like those, when she heard the sound of a whistle in the distance. Even though she was still unfamiliar with the customs and peoples of Skyrim, Katie had a hard time imagining that that whistle might be a good thing. She drew her spear out quickly, preparing for combat as she stared out through the snow, waiting for some sign of an enemy. Still, it wasn't long before that sign appeared.

Katie hadn't taken a single step forward since she'd heard the whistle, and it was just as well, since a moment later, a nord woman, almost as tall as her, and better armored, emerged from behind a curve in the mountainside, swinging a hand axe, with a bloodthirsty look in her eyes.

However, she had her spear at the ready, and its reach was quite a bit longer than that of her enemy's weapon. Seeing that her new enemy had no intention of backing away, Katie jabbed with her spear once, delivering a clean blow to her enemy's midsection, then drew back to attack again, and was just able to get in one more strike before her enemy slipped to one side and attacked.

The axe dug in deep, but Katie struggled to keep on her feet, lashing out with her spear again, though her next attack didn't do as much damage, and her enemy was already ready with another swing.

However, the lady bandit wasn't the only one attacking. By that point, an archer had emerged from behind the mountainside, and fired an arrow right into Katie's side. She winced in pain, taking careful aim with her spear, and hurled it through the lady bandit who'd been the first to attack her, with so much force, that it kept going clean through her, and hit the archer, who'd been behind her, in the chest as well. His hand dropped the arrow that he'd been holding in shock and agony, and before he could recover from the attack and draw another, Katie had yanked her spear back out of his well-armored torso.

The first bandit was clearly dead, which seemed to have made the remaining, injured one even more furious. He was trying to use his bow again, arming it with another arrow, but that one didn't dig in as far, or hurt as much, and Katie made another clean jab with her spear just a second later, lunging forward, to put her full power behind the blow.

Fortunately, after another couple of exchanges, the second bandit; a male nord, also lay dead, but Katie had been hit by several of his arrows before he'd gone down, and the pain alone was enough to inform her that the two bandits she'd just killed had both been a lot stronger than the soldiers she'd fought while escaping Helgen. In fact, she was convinced that she'd only won because she was using a weapon that she was familiar with, as well as a little good luck.

For a moment, the idea occurred to Katie to try searching the dead bandits for valuables. After all, the very fact that they were out there; robbing and pillaging pretty much indicated that they'd left their families and their civilized way of life behind them, which meant that the issue of legal heirs and such wasn't a problem, and she certainly could have gotten a decent price for their armor.

However, just as she was unfastening the armored boots that the female bandit had been wearing, she heard a shout of rage, and in a flash, was under attack again.

Katie was just barely able to get back to her feet, as her enemy's axe dug into her hard. He was just as strong as his buddies, and wearing even more armor, but fortunately, her first shot with her spear dug deep, cracking his armor in several places, and shoving several shards of metal into his flesh. Once again, though, he got a good shot in just a moment later, and Katie could feel her strength giving way under the continual assault. She lashed out once more with as much force as she could, but she was losing strength a lot faster than her enemy was. The third bandit was injured, but not as badly as she was, and in just another moment, he'd driven his axe into her side again, and everything went black.

* * *

For what felt like a very long time, Katie couldn't see or hear anything. It felt as if she was floating in an ocean of tar; unable to move, and surrounded by pain that she couldn't sufficiently react to. However, after a time, she started to notice voices; soft and distant at first, then gradually growing louder, until she could just begin to make out what they were saying.

"...what would have happened if she had been chosen."

"You're forgetting; many will have our blessings."

"Are you suggesting that any one of the blessed has a chance to succeed?"

"Why do you say 'one?'"

Then, the voices faded, and that was all that Katie could make out, until she felt the feeling returning to her arms and legs, and a warm light seeming to bathe her whole body.

* * *

Katie's eyes shot open in alarm, staring in amazement into the light that lay before her, though she soon found that she had to squint, for the sake of her eyes, because she was staring into a campfire, which had been set up only a few feet in front of her; most likely to keep her warm. However, what really amazed her wasn't just the presence of the campfire, but the fact that she was still alive.

Katie was still wounded. She was cut and bruised all over, and felt like at any moment, she might fall back asleep, and never wake up again, but she was still better off than the bandits she'd been facing. The two who she'd killed with her spear still lay on the ground; dead, and since she'd fallen unconscious, the third had also been killed; apparently by some kind of thick broadsword, to judge by the cut that had driven itself through his neck, separating his head from the rest of him.

Her rescuer, it seemed, had taken something in exchange for saving her life. All of the armor and goods that had been on the bodies of the bandits had been removed, but Katie didn't mind. She was just glad to have survived. What disappointed her was the realization that in spite of her best attempts, she hadn't even been able to reach Bleak Falls Barrow. The kind of work that the Jarl needed done; the kind that might have saved her family and her town, was beyond her power.

Still, she reasoned, she needed to accept the truth, and if there was still a hope of saving her family, it didn't lie in getting herself killed. Slowly, she turned back south, to look towards the town of Riverwood, the nearest potential source of a warm bed and good food; a chance to recover from her injuries.

* * *

Katie didn't remember much about the journey back down the mountain after that. In fact, her next memory was of waking up in Gerdur's house, in a pile of straw, very similar to the cot she'd slept in back home. There was no one else around when she woke up, but most of her wounds had healed, and the ones that were still aching had been bandaged and washed. In fact, she realized, the bandages reminded her of Ralof, and the way he'd saved her life back in the cave. He might have been responsible for those bandages as well, but he probably hadn't been the one who'd rescued her on the mountainside.

Still, her head had finally cleared, and she was starting to think straight again. Her failure on the mountain had been devastating at the time, but having taken a moment to think it over, she realized that there had been one major asset that she hadn't used in her fight, and that was her potion-making book. In fact, she hadn't used it at all, since leaving Arcadia's shop in Whiterun, and it was clear why. Apart from the minor prejudice that she'd always had against magic use in any form, Katie had been in a big rush to get help for her village since she'd first arrived in Skyrim. Even when the worst obstacles had surfaced in her path, she'd never treated them like they were anything major, and always used the same tactics against them; just try to power through them and hope they gave way.

The problem, she realized sadly, was that her desperation to help her folks wasn't really helping anyone. She'd been frantically trying to rush through her journey; get to the goal as fast as she could, just so she could go back home and put everything back to normal again. That, she realized in shame, had been her real motive, and her real problem. She missed her old life in Karohad. In fact, she missed it so much, that it was making her impatient, and that had been causing her all sorts of problems.

As much as Katie hated the idea of having to remain on her journey any longer than necessary, she realized sadly, no amount of speed would undo the dragon attacks, or bring back the Slow Sabrecat. No matter what she did, some of her old friends were most likely dead, and it was only then, in Gerdur's house, face to face with her own failures, that Katie came to grips with the most sobering fact that she'd ever had to face.

Her old life was done. It wasn't coming back. Even if she found guards to protect Karohad; even if she rebuilt the Slow Sabrecat; even if she could make her mother proud, and go back to the same routine she'd always had afterwards, just like she wanted, it would never be entirely the same. Things would never be the way they'd been before.

Katie had never in her life felt so sad, yet she didn't cry. It wasn't that kind of sadness. She knew that she'd have to keep working; keep trying to make things work out, for the sake of the people of her hometown, and that would still involve a lot of sacrifices, but the time had finally come to grow up, and face her problems with a patient heart. She had to start taking things one step at a time, just the way her father had always said.

Slowly, she got to her feet, being careful to avoid aggravating her remaining injuries, and pulled her bottle out of her pack, which had been left on the floor, beside the straw that she'd been resting in, then moved it around in front of her eyes as she stepped outside, looking for potential potion ingredients. It was the first step on her new path to adulthood.

* * *

Katie spent over an hour finding ingredients, and ultimately, the only reason why she stopped was because some of the Riverwood kids had noticed what she was doing, and wanted to help. Soon, she was back in Gerdur's house, with the book open on a table, and her ingredients spread out across the chairs that surrounded it. Over the hours that followed, she'd managed to make quite a few potions, taking some of them to help heal the rest of her injuries, and selling some of the others at the local general store in exchange for more ingredients, bottles and money. Katie kept it up for hours. However, it seemed that Ralof had been busy outside the village; probably with hunting, or something similar, because it was only after she'd spent five hours making potions at that table, when he finally entered through the front door, looking in astonishment at the mess that was starting to fill his sister's house.

As he closed the door, it was clear that Ralof wasn't sure how to feel about the sight in front of him. On the one hand, he had a good reason to be glad that his friend was up and about again. On the other hand, the various, flowers, mushrooms, animal parts and empty bottles that littered the surrounding floor and furniture were clearly going to be murder to clean up when she was done.

"I'm glad you're recovering so quickly." Ralof observed aloud, starting off with the positive, "You were a wreck when you arrived. You didn't even have enough strength to speak."

"I know." Katie replied, not looking up from the table where she was mixing and grinding ingredients, "I made a stupid mistake, but I'll try not to let it happen again."

Ralof paused for a few moments, although it was obvious that there were still a few things that he was eager to discuss.

"A compliment of guards arrived from Whiterun yesterday, while you were in bed." Ralof informed her, "Never thought I'd be glad to see non-Stormcloak militia, but as long as Gerdur's safe, I'm happy."

"She seems like a good girl." Katie observed, starting to smile just a little; a feat which had grown harder since she'd made her big decision, several hours before, "I'm sure she'll be alright. I don't expect the dragon to come back this way anyway; at least not for a while."

"Even if it does come back, what good would a few arrows do?" Ralof asked sadly, leaning against the table for a moment, "Times like these are pretty terrifying, you know? I don't mean the rebellion. People always need to fight for their rights. Freedom is never free. It's just... No matter who wins, what does it mean if we all get devoured by some firebreathing creature? Really makes you think... I mean, about your life, you know?"

Ralof sounded pretty sincere when he said those words. However, after all that the two of them had been through together, Katie had no intention of lying to him about her own feelings.

"Listen, Ralof..." Katie remarked a bit sadly, "I've been thinking about what I want for my life since I was twelve, and I'm sure I know what I want, but if you mean that times like these make you reevaluate your life; think more about how you do things... I guess that's true, but for me, it wasn't the dragon."

Ralof seemed like he was about to ask about that, but changed his mind a moment later, after looking at Katie for a second. At last, however, he did ask another question; though not along those same lines at all.

"Is this all alchemy? I've never seen anyone make potions without an alchemy station before."

"Yes." Katie replied, though she was still distracted by the mixture that she was working on as she spoke, "As near as I've been able to figure out, there's something about the magic in the finished potion that suffers when an alchemy station is used to make it. That's also why I've been using empty bottles."

Ralof had paused, just as he'd been about to speak. It seemed that that would have been his next question.

"When you make potions with a station, the bottle materializes around the potion, then shrinks and vanishes when the potion is used." Katie continued explaining, "It's convenient; sure, but it gobbles up a lot of magic, and doesn't leave as much for the potion itself. According to my book, the ancient alchemists always used real bottles, flasks and jars to hold their potions in; back when warriors were faster and magic was stronger."

"I'm no alchemist myself," Ralof admitted in reply, "but I thought the point was to draw on the natural properties of the ingredients, and extract them into a formula that one could drink."

"Actually, it's interesting." Katie observed, just as dispassionately as before, "The first few pages of my book have become clear just recently, and they seem to indicate that that sort of alchemy was only the most basic method, and even that method, in older magic, tended to involve a lot more experimentation and preparing of ingredients, and produced stronger potions on the whole. It's weird. It's like if you spent your whole life in one, tiny house, and then suddenly, you discovered a basement door, leading down into a huge castle underneath it. So much has been lost over the centuries, and I'm still not much good at stage one alchemy, even after all these hours. I've only been able to make three really good healing potions in the last five hours, and a bunch of mediocre ones."

As she said that, Katie gestured to a pair of small bottles with a red-colored liquid inside, which seemed to glow just slightly, with the aura of the potions that they. Of course, she'd used one of her finished potions to heal the rest of her wounds, but still, Ralof was very impressed.

"Making top-quality healing potions isn't easy; even for the best alchemists." he said at last, "You just need a little practice, and that's going to take some time. Don't worry about it."

However, Katie was still looking at the scattered bottles and ingredients sadly, as though they were just making the situation worse, somehow.

"I guess, but I can't stay here forever, just practicing and practicing, until I get this right. You've really given me a lot of help, and I'm grateful, but I don't want to have to depend on you."

Ralof seemed like he was about to reply to that, but no words came out of his mouth for several seconds. Finally, when he did speak, it made her frown just a little.

"Katie, you're pretty tough; even stronger than most of the warriors I know about, but nobody can make do without a little help now and then. I know that's probably not what you meant; that you probably just want to find some way to make a home for yourself; find your own food and shelter, instead of using ours. I appreciate that, and you're right, but everyone needs help. You know what I mean. The whole reason I joined the Stormcloaks was because I knew that I needed help, for what I wanted to accomplish."

"Yeah..." Katie replied, however, "I know. I just have some things that I have to do. I don't know if two healing potions will be enough. Maybe I should stay here for a while longer. Maybe I should try to survive in the wild for a while, or go back to Whiterun. Maybe I should head out right now, and try with what I've got..."

She'd been running over her options aloud, even as she finished mixing the rest of her ingredients, but things looked pretty rough. She was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to survive alone in the wild, or find enough ingredients by herself to keep experimenting with potions, and although she'd gained over two hundred more pieces of gold from the potions she'd been making, and selling at the local shop, it was only just barely enough to live on. Without help from the neighborhood kids, she never would have been able to make that much money, that fast. Then, of course, there was the fact that she still wanted to find some way to make some alchemy apparati for herself, or maybe buy the ones that Arcadia had let her use, and that would take even more money. Finding some safe place to put all of her things was another problem, and would most likely require even more coins.

It was hard, because Katie was starting to realize just how bad her own situation had become. Even without her mission to help her family, finding some way to survive in Skyrim was going to be difficult by itself.

For a moment, she thought about telling Ralof that she was planning on making another attempt at Bleak Falls Barrow, and maybe even offering to let him come along for a share of the profits, or some such deal, but the truth was that as skilled as Ralof was, he wasn't a much stronger fighter than her, and she didn't want to put him in any more danger if it could be helped. She knew that he would absolutely want to follow her if he realized that she was going back towards that tower, where she'd almost gotten killed before, and into Bleak Falls Barrow, which was probably even worse, and she wasn't going to give him the chance to object.

That was why, a couple of hours later, she'd finished her experiments, packed up her remaining bottles and ingredients, as well as her new potions and gold, and headed back out of town on foot, and across the stone bridge, then back up the path she'd taken last time, preparing herself for another attack.

* * *

As Katie neared the tower, however, where she'd heard the whistle before, and fought those three bandits, who'd nearly killed her, no further signal seemed to be forthcoming. In fact, there was no sign that any living person was there at all. Slowly, she gathered up her courage, getting within twenty-five yards of the tower, then fifteen, then five. At last, she was at the very door of the place, knocking lightly on the walls with her spear, and sure enough, there was no sound of rage, or even dissatisfaction from within. For a moment, she found it hard to believe that those three bandits had been the only ones in that tower, but there didn't seem to be anyone else home. There weren't even any dead bodies. However, as she stepped inside the walls of the small, stone tower, and began looking around the inside of the place, she could see that they'd left many of their possessions behind.

Right there, on the very first floor, sitting on a table in the middle of the tower, Katie found a pair of boots, which were even stronger than the ones she'd taken from the imperial captain, as well as a small, iron shield and helmet. The helmet was inferior to the one she had, but she took the shield, slinging it over one arm. It reminded her of the way she'd practiced with her spear back home; a shield in one hand and her weapon in the other. At the very least, she had what she needed to use the fighting technique that she was familiar with, though she still would have been happier to have some real armor for her torso.

Apart from the armor, there was also a little gold, and Katie took even the inferior armor with her as she proceeded up the tower stairs. They were wooden, but made from thick, strong boards, and bore her to the second floor without difficulty, where she hesitated as she looked outside, through an archway at the very top of the stairs. The sight filled her with dread.

That archway opened right out into the open air, revealing a drop of at least fifty feet. There was a wooden ramp, built along the outside of the tower, and she was sure that the bandits had used it to climb up to the upper floors of the tower, but unlike the stairs she'd just climbed, the ramp didn't look sturdy. Its boards were thin, and she had no way of knowing what other supports, if any, were holding it up. It was as if she'd just been asked to cross a rickety, old bridge with rotten planks in the middle. Even if the bandits had used that ramp, there was no guarantee that she could.

Then, another thought occurred to her. What if she made it up the ramp, but couldn't make it back down? What would happen then? Would it come to a choice between trying to jump down or just starving to death, up on that tower? The thought was a terrifying, and yet, distressingly-vivid one. Still, she wanted to know what was up there, and that may have been why, a moment later, she was removing her armored gloves, boots, helmet, putting down her shield and weapon, and removing every heavy item from her pack. There was still a risk, of course, that the ramp might not be able to support her, but, she decided, if fully-armored bandits could walk up and down it without fear, she was willing to give it a shot.

Katie's first step onto the ramp was cautious and gradual, to say nothing of being very, very cold, without her boots to protect her feet. The next couple of steps weren't much faster. However, she soon found that while the ramp creaked and groaned, it also held firm, and in only a few more seconds, she made it up to the next floor of the tower, where she found some barrels full of fresh vegetables, and a couple of flagons next to a small keg, with a little mead still left inside. However, there were two more wooden staircases leading further up, so she left all of those useful items behind, and finally, at the very top of the tower, there was a chest. As expected from the one place in a bandit's tower, that was hardest to reach, the chest was filled with gold. There was also a stamina potion inside, which Katie took with her, although she didn't trust herself to be able to lug all of that gold, and all those supplies back down the wooden ramp. For a few minutes, it was a puzzle, just how she was going to get it all back down the tower. However, soon enough, she came up with an idea.

The many pouches and small bags that were attached to her hiking gear by thick straps had suddenly become useful. One by one, Katie began removing them from her clothing, and one by one, she filled them with gold and supplies, then, when they were full and tied shut, she dropped them off the edge of the tower, aiming carefully, and waiting until there was no wind, with the intention of making sure that they all landed on the bridge at the base of the tower. Six bags were dropped over the edge, and five made it to the bridge intact. The sixth, unfortunately, fell into the abyss, costing Katie a bag and some potatoes, but she got safely back down a few moments later, and found that she'd managed to save about a hundred and fifty pieces of gold, a large supply of food, some flagons and a potion bottle; which she'd carried downstairs herself, although she'd needed to leave the mead barrel behind. Still, it was a nice haul, considering that she hadn't needed to fight anyone since her first battle with the bandits.

Katie wasn't in a hurry to eat any of the vegetables until they'd been cooked, and the rest of the treasure that she'd found felt relatively light, once it was all packed in her bag. In short, it didn't take her long to decide that she should continue up the mountain right away, and hope that she didn't run into any more strong enemies.

The path turned almost back the opposite way, at the very end of the bridge, then went in a steady curve around the side of the mountain for quite some distance. However, pretty soon, Katie found that she could see some sort of structure about a hundred yards away, with large, stone steps leading up along it, and lookout posts around the edges of it, as though it had been intended to be used as a fortress during hard times. Unfortunately, Katie was soon to discover that it -was- being used as a fortress.

In just a second, a shout rang out. Unsurprisingly, she'd been spotted through the snow, although she still couldn't make out the person who'd been shouting. For a moment, the thought occurred to her to stay right where she was and wait for the enemy to approach, but that idea vanished into thin air a moment later, when an arrow buried itself in a snowdrift near her left ankle.

In a very short time, Katie had her spear drawn, and was heading towards the attackers as fast as she could; which wouldn't have been much of a sprint, even on a clear day, and she was being slowed down even more by the snow. Still, she made it to the base of the stone steps before another arrow could be fired at her. It did, of course, manage to make contact with her, but it was only a surface-level wound.

Naturally, the stairs themselves were an obstacle as well, but she'd gotten up them before too long, with only one more surface-level arrow wound to show for it, and she'd already spotted the archer who'd been shooting at her. He was, she was pleased to see, also within range of her spear.

In a flash, Katie's spear shot out, getting a clean jab into her enemy's chest, although he was apparently a strong-willed sort of fighter, and had already fired off another arrow at her. It didn't do any more good than it had before, and in just another moment, she'd leaned into her spear, driving it into him with her full power. That was clearly too much for him, and he'd collapsed to the ground a moment later, completely dropping his bow in agony. However, it was just then that his buddies started their own attack.

There were, in fact, three bandits in that place, though they didn't look quite as tough as the ones she'd fought before, and they hadn't been doing as much damage with their attacks. The weakest-looking one was an orc with an axe, who'd already reached Katie's position, and was swinging his blade as fast as he could, while his other buddy had begun firing arrows from his own bow, from the top of another flight of stairs. However, the orc's axe barely glanced off Katie's helmet, and his friend's arrow did very little damage when it wedged itself in her left hip.

Reacting to the more immediate threat, Katie spun her spear around, driving it into the badly-armored orc, who looked both stunned and horrified by the force that his enemy was putting behind her weapon. It didn't stop him from attempting a counter-attack, but neither that attack, nor the next arrow fired by his friend was able to penetrate anything vital, and in just a moment, her spear had not only struck the orc with much greater force, but knocked him back through the air and into the hard stone behind him, forcing him to drop his weapon. He looked like he was on his last legs, but unfortunately, that was when the first archer managed to retrieve his weapon.

The next thing Katie knew, she was being fired at from two sides, though once again, the damage done by the arrows was minimal. It still hurt, though, and Katie was beginning to look like a bean-shaped pin cushion. She tried to counter-attack against the first archer again with her spear, but wasn't able to get a clean hit, and she could tell that her attack hadn't done much damage, and her enemies were still unloading arrows.

Fortunately, she was still strong enough to drive her spear into the first archer again, and that was that. The bow fell from his arms in a shower of blood, and the first archer was dead. The other archer hesitated in his attack for a moment, as his comrade fell, but the death of the first bandit had only enraged the orc, who'd already grabbed his axe again, and charged back towards her with a howl of fury.

Apparently, the orc had gone into a berserk frenzy, because he got a good hit in against her. However, as before, it barely managed to scratch the surface, and although she was already feeling sad over the person she'd been forced to kill, Katie knew that she still had to defend herself. In just a moment, her spear had swept out again, and down went the orc in a spray of green.

Even after all of that, she still would have accepted a surrender from the remaining bandit. However, Katie had never met many bandits before her journey to Skyrim, and she didn't understand the kind of impulsive, emotional mentality that drove them. The last bandit wasn't going to back down, and he'd unloaded another two arrows right into her stomach by the time she managed to reach him and go on the offensive.

She fought with the bandit for a minute or so, but it was obvious that he wasn't getting the better of the fight, and after only a few blows from each side, he was down too, and the battle was over. Katie was aching all over as she slowly, carefully began removing the arrows from her flesh, where they'd stuck, but she felt as though she could have fought another group, just like that one, if she needed to. It was odd; just after having come so close to death; to suddenly find that she was so powerful; almost ready for anything. Yet, it didn't make her happy, she realized; not really. Having the power to fight multiple, armed opponents was a comforting thought, but actually having done so just made her feel sad, even as she searched the bodies of her attackers, collecting several pieces of light armor, some weapons, a little gold (though not much,) and, to her surprise, a rather expensive-looking ring with some kind of orange gemstone set into it. It wasn't much. In fact, it was clear that those bandits, at least, had been very weak and inexperienced, since they clearly hadn't stolen much of anything.

Still, Katie had managed to clear the way to the barrow itself. As she'd suspected, the large, stone structure was right outside the entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow; the place that she'd been asked to investigate by Jarl Balgruuf's highly-unpleasant mage. She still wasn't sure that she wanted to do him any favors, but if nothing else, Katie had managed to survive another day, and gotten both food and money out of her recent adventures. It was, at least, enough to survive on.

Then, however, she remembered her parents, and the urgency of her quest. She also remembered the two healing potions that she still had; a security against any further attacks, and she knew that after all her preparations, it would just be lazy to turn back then and there. She wanted to. Something inside of her seemed to be pulling her back away from those great, iron doors, leading into the mountainside barrow, but she was determined not to give up, and she definitely didn't want to hike up and down the mountain any more times than was absolutely necessary. It would be better, she reasoned, if she could fully explore the entire barrow in one trip, and just get it all over with.

So, in another moment, Katie's hands pushed open the front doors of the barrow with a loud, creaking noise. She had no idea what she was about to encounter in there, but she knew it wouldn't do any good to worry about that. Her plan for the future was finally beginning to take shape. She just needed to prepare as best she could with patience, make plans as best she could, and then just deal with the rest as it came. That, she reasoned, was the most mature way to deal with her situation.

Soon, the doors had closed behind her with a clang, and Katie of Hammerfell was descending; the darkness growing more oppressive as she moved gradually on.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. The Golden Needle gives Katie some fine clothes to fit her. None of these clothing designs are available in any size whatsoever in Skyrim.

2. Katie survives her encounter with a group of bandits after they overpower her, because she's rescued and healed by a passerby. This -never- happens in Skyrim.

3. Katie has an insightful, and yet mysterious dream. This doesn't happen in Skyrim, although I believe Nehrim did something like it.

4. The kids in Riverwood join in the fun and help Katie gather ingredients for alchemy. They will never do this in Skyrim, no matter how in-character it would be for young children.

5. Katie is able to do alchemy in Riverwood, without any sort of alchemy table. Not possible in Skyrim.

6. The wooden platform outside the tower can only support a certain amount of weight, so Katie needs to drop many of her possessions and armor in order to traverse it. As cool as a gameplay mechanic like this would be, it's nowhere to be found in Skyrim. No platforms will ever break in the game, and the weight of what you're carrying has no effect on bridges and platforms that you're traversing.

7. Katie is able to lower loot from the top of a tower in bags. If this can be done in Skyrim, I've yet to find a way.

8. Once again, we see mechanics in the second fight that are not present in Skyrim; of note being the hesitation of bandits over the death of a comrade, and over being hit hard enough to keep them from reloading their bows, or to knock the weapons from their hands.


	7. Chapter 7: Bleak Falls Barrow

Chapter 7: Bleak Falls Barrow

* * *

Katie was astonished as, for the second time in her life, she felt her wounds closing up all the way by magic. Her cuts sealed themselves, her bruises faded from existence; the deeper wounds made by some of the arrows of her enemy filled and closed, as though they'd never been, and at last, as she put the empty potion bottle back into her bag, even her skin and hair felt smoother than they had that afternoon. She looked just as if she'd never been wounded in her life. Still, although she felt better than she ever had, she still had some regrets about using her first potion so soon. She might have been able to take on another bandit, but she wasn't as sure as she had been before.

As soon as Katie had entered the barrow, she'd found herself in a big cave with a lot of dead skeevers, an altar, two dead bandits, and unfortunately, two living ones. Neither of them had hit very hard, but they'd worn her down quite a bit before she'd managed to slay them, almost doubling the injuries she'd received in her last fight. That was why she'd taken the potion.

The bandits had some gold and some gear on them, which she could probably sell later, and they also had a chest, which, when Katie smashed the lock open with her spear, contained some low-level potions for healing and magic. However, what she most took an interest in were the skeever tails.

The skeevers were a lot like large rats, the size of dogs, and their tails were causing her magic bottle to glow. Still, when she opened her book to investigate, she discovered that while the tails did have uses, they were very poisonous, and for a while, she hesitated to touch them. In the end, though, she did eventually start cutting the tails off the skeevers and putting them into her bag, along with all of the other things she'd gathered. Then, she headed off down into the cave, traveling through a tunnel at the far end; away from the entrance.

The tunnel continued on into the mountain for quite some distance, past urns, bookshelves and large torches, and through some disgustingly-thick webs, until at last, Katie found herself at an actual doorway, sculpted out of the stone. Still, as she looked through, she saw someone on the other side; probably another bandit. He was standing in the middle of the next chamber; another rather large area, and approaching a stone pedestal; which was about five feet high, in the middle of the room. Katie couldn't see much of the rest of the room from where she was, and she was afraid to move, for fear of drawing yet another enemy's attention.

Soon, however, the bandit had placed both hands on the stone pedestal, and just like that, there was a hissing noise from inside the chamber, a scream of pain, and the bandit had fallen over on the floor.

Katie didn't even stop to think about the danger. Grabbing the door frame with her left hand, she quickly slid into the room and rushed over to where the bandit was lying on the ground. She felt his arms and wrists for a moment, then looked into his eyes. Last of all, she held one of her bottles up to his mouth and took a look at it. There was no fog at all on the outside of the bottle, and that could only mean one thing. There wasn't any breath left in his body. The bandit was dead.

It was only once she realized that, that Katie began to think of the danger. Quickly, she looked up from where she'd been looking the bandit over, though it seemed that whatever had killed him wasn't aiming at her; at least not yet. Still, it only took her a few moments to discover how the bandit had died. No less than five small needles were protruding from the skin of his neck and torso, and a dull yellow liquid was dripping from them onto his skin.

Quickly, she got up and looked around. She couldn't see where the needles had come from, though she suspected that they'd been fired from inside the walls somewhere. She had to wonder if it was the kind of trap that, once spent, was out of ammunition, or if it was reloading itself at that very moment. In the end, though, she decided that either way, she was better off being safe than stuck by poisoned needles.

In another moment, Katie looked at the top of the stone pillar, and began to realize just what had activated the trap. On that pillar, there were three small levers, made of metal. Obviously, the bandit had activated the trap by pulling the wrong one, or else, by pulling one in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, or perhaps in the wrong order.

Katie had seen levers like those before. A system similar to it blocked off the inner sanctum of the temple of Dibella in Hammerfell, but she'd never bothered with trying to figure out how to crack a puzzle like that.

That was when she realized just why the bandit had touched the levers, because as she looked up from them, she realized that aside from the door that she'd come in by, there was only one other door, leading out of the room, and it was blocked off by a thick, iron gate. Those levers, she realized, were the only way to open the door, or at least, the only obvious way.

Then again, she thought, why should the designer of that chamber make it so obvious? Maybe the real means of getting past the gate was hidden somewhere, or maybe the levers really were the means, but there was some trick to opening them.

As Katie puzzled over the secret of the levers, she bend down to look at a large inscription on the side of the stone pillar, although it was in a language that she couldn't read, and probably wouldn't have helped much, anyway. You don't, she reasoned, leave instructions on how to open a door that you've installed death traps to guard.

Katie spent the next few minutes pacing around the chamber, looking at the carvings on the walls, looking back at the levers again, and finally, circling the stone platform a few times as she puzzled it over. The curious lock was aggravating, and she was just starting to wonder if she could count her brief journey as a full exploration of the barrow, when she noticed something about the carvings on the walls; on four of the six wall panels, there was a tiny carving; no bigger than a potion bottle, which looked like the head of a dragon, and on the remaining two panels, there were large carvings, drawn to look like swords, standing upright. Those carvings, she thought, might be a clue.

Dragons, of course, represented death and the end of the world, but also colossal power and a gift of the gods, as her father had once told her. Which of those things, she wondered, did the dragon carvings of Skyrim represent? What was the meaning of the sword? If pressed, she might have thought that the dragon carvings represented Akatosh, but she wasn't aware of any god represented by a sword.

Though she had misgivings about it, and she was starting to feel afraid that at any moment, one of those sword carvings might start firing poison needles at her, Katie reached up for one of them, and gasped in shock. The sword carving had moved under her touch, shaking loose a cloud of grit and dusk; as though it was only loosely connected to the rest of the carvings on the wall.

Soon, Katie had pulled the sword carving out as far as it would go, finding that it was connected to the wall by concealed hinges, and would fold upward, but that it was impossible to remove it from the wall completely. When she pulled the sword carving up, there was a snapping noise, and it slid about an inch into wall. Fortunately, though, no traps were activated by that, and soon, she'd done the same thing with the second sword carving, hearing another snapping sound as she did so. Clearly, whatever she was doing, it was having some kind of effect, though she couldn't tell what it was, until she turned to look at the dragon carvings again, and stared in wonder.

Two of the dragon carvings had opened their mouths, as if to breathe deadly flame right into the chamber, and, Katie found, they were the very two dragon heads that the sword carvings, which were sticking right out of the walls by that point, were pointed towards. That was when an idea of what she needed to do began to dimly form in her mind, and soon, in spite of the danger, she was standing at the pedestal in the middle of the room, with her hands on the levers that were there. The ones on the left and right, she saw, were shaped like the hilt of a sword.

Perhaps a bit too readily, Katie yanked on the left lever; not to try to pull it back, like the bandit had done, but to try to turn it around. She'd been developing a theory about the levers, and sure enough, the one on the left was rotating in place; its hilt turning in a new direction, and she kept turning it until it faced a third dragon sculpture.

With a snap, the third dragon head opened its mouth, and that confirmed everything.

In seconds, Katie had begun rotating the right lever as well, turning it to face the last dragon head. She wasn't sure what to expect once the dragon's mouths were all open, but it certainly seemed as if she was closer to solving the door's puzzle. However, at last, when the last of the dragon mouths opened, something began spilling out of the mouths of the dragons; some kind of green smoke, which she didn't recognize, though she hoped it wasn't another kind of poison.

However, the main reason why she was unfamiliar with the sight of that green vapor, was because she was largely unfamiliar with magic. Otherwise, she might have noticed that a sort of illusion spell was being cast on the chamber. In seconds, she could hear a voice that seemed to be coming, not from the dragon heads, but from the swords.

"Miss?" the voice asked, sounding both gruff and uncommonly deep "Just what do you think you're doing here?"

Though she suspected that the voice wasn't real, and she was starting to get a little scared, Katie spoke up a moment later, addressing the voice as boldly as she could, "I'm here because I have to be; because my parents, and the people of my hometown need help."

"Sounds like a dangerous mission." the voice replied, sounding almost amused as it spoke, "You really think you're up to that, miss?"

Katie swallowed, because the voice was very intimidating, and the way it had replied to her seemed to prove that it wasn't any normal illusion. Still, she gathered up her courage and spoke her next words carefully.

"I don't know, but I have to do the best I can. I've just had my whole life snatched out from under me, and I realized, even if I die, I have to protect my family. Even if I have to fight, I'll fight for them. I know that may sound silly, but I have something worth dying for."

"Miss..." the voice said, starting to echo just a little more in a threatening manner, "That's not good enough. I'm sure you don't want to die. The question is; do you want to win? Are you willing to spill blood? Are you willing to strike first, and strike hard? Are you willing to fight your enemies by making sure they're terrified of you?"

Once again, Katie wasn't sure what to say, but as she thought about what she'd just been asked, she realized that the answer was much simpler than she'd suspected; much simpler than she'd ever thought possible.

"For the sake of my family..." Katie responded, her own voice trembling just a bit as she spoke, "yes. I will."

Just like that, the mist that had been pouring from the mouths of the dragons stopped, and Katie could feel the effects of the enchantment beginning to wear off. She was so stunned by what she'd just been through, that she barely even noticed what had happened to the third lever on the pedestal. One half of the lever had split open, revealing a tiny, metal stud on the inside of the switch. Katie only hesitated for a moment before she reached forward and pushed it, then watched in amazement as the great, iron gate in front of her unlocked, and began retreating into the ceiling above the doorway. She still wasn't sure what had just happened to her, or what sort of wizard had designed that trap chamber, but she didn't waste time worrying about it, continuing on through the once-blocked door.

* * *

Katie soon found herself in a small room with a treasure chest in it, containing some gold, which she took along with a healing potion and an odd-looking gem, then she moved down some thick, wooden stairs to a hallway filled with thick webbing, and it was there that three skeevers made their attack. However, Katie was able to crush one in a single blow, and after only a moment, skewered the other two with her spear like a shish kebab. All together, only one of them had even managed to bite her, and it had only been a very minor bite, doing almost no damage.

She'd just finished collecting the tails of the skeevers, when suddenly, Katie heard a voice from further down the web-filled hallway; the voice of some man who sounded absolutely terrified. He was shouting for some of his friends, as though he were afraid that they'd all died and left him alone.

Katie wasn't sure whether the terrified man was a friend or an enemy, but he sounded like he needed help in any case, so she continued down the hallways, towards the sound of the voice, cutting through another disgusting web barrier as she went, until she found herself in one of the most revolting rooms she'd ever seen in her life.

The entire room was like the inside of a spider's nest. Three-foot-tall egg sacks stood upright on the floor, and web seemed to cover every wall, and the whole ceiling. However, it seemed that the terrified man had noticed her, because he'd begun to shout to her in desperation.

"Look out! Up above you!"

It was only then that Katie noticed the massive shadow on the floor, and tried to get out of the way, but the thing that had cast that shadow could fall a lot faster than she could move, and she was knocked over as a massive spider; bigger than any horse she'd ever seen; came crashing down, waving its forearms like claws. Fortunately, though, she was able to keep hold of her spear, and used it to right herself a moment later, though the spider had time to fire a poisoned web ball at her while she was getting up. It didn't, however, get to launch another attack before she'd driven her spear into its head.

Katie could hear the shrill, rapid clicking as the spider tried to retreat in pain, all while lashing out with its arms, but although it got in a good hit or two against her, it was quickly becoming obvious that the beast had been injured before she'd even got there. Its strength was pitiful for a creature that size, and it seemed to be very tired and afraid. Fortunately, Katie was much too strong for the beast in its weakened condition. In just another moment, her spear swung around again, skewering the monster, just like the skeevers she'd fought in the hallway. Then, just like that, the fight was over.

She had to spent a couple moments getting the body of the spider out of the way, which wasn't easy because of the thing's size and how much it weighed. Still, she was eventually able to push the thing to one side by using both hands, and that was when she saw the man who'd been shouting at her, and realized just why he'd sounded so afraid. He was cocooned almost completely in spider webs.

Getting him out was the next thing, of course. Katie didn't even bother talking to him first, to try to find out who he was, or what he was after. He was in danger, and he needed help. That, to her, was the important thing. Cutting him out of the web was hard, though, because her spear stuck to the webbing if her jabs weren't quick enough, and yet, she had to make sure that they weren't -too- quick, and accidentally hit the man who she was trying to help. At last, he was able to wrench his way loose from the rest of the web, and after taking a few seconds to steady himself, he stood up to his full height and looked her in the face with a curious expression.

However, that expression soon turned from confusion to avarice, and he began to back away from her.

"You saved my life." he muttered, "I should probably share the treasure with you... But... Sorry, miss. You're on your own."

Then, just like that, the man was off down the passage like a shot, and Katie knew what must have been going through his mind. Somehow, he'd gotten hold of some kind of treasure in that dungeon, and had thought about giving her part of it, before he realized that he could have just outrun her, and gotten away with the whole thing.

As much as she wanted money, to help her survive in that land, Katie would have probably let him keep whatever treasure he'd found. However, she was still worried about him; running full-tilt through a dangerous dungeon, which had already proven enough to trap, or even kill him. That was why she was so sad, when she realized that she could never catch up to him, at the rate he was going, and worse yet, that he probably wouldn't listen to her if she tried shouting to him.

Still, Katie headed off down the passage, nonetheless, following the man at her own maximum comfortable speed, until at last, she turned a corner, and just as she'd feared, there was the man who'd just been running from her, lying in a pool of his own blood, and surrounded by three undead nords, closely resembling zombies. She didn't know much about nord zombies. Apparently, though, in Skyrim, they were called draugr. They tended to be faster than most zombies, tended to be armed, and were always eager for the kill. They all noticed her immediately, turned on her and attacked in unison.

It took Katie a moment to respond to their initial attack, but soon, her spear was out, and in one, wide swipe, she'd knocked all three back. One, it seemed, was weaker than the others, but all three were back on their feet in a moment, so she needed to make her next move quickly, skewering one of the larger draugrs, and picking its body up with her spear, she swung him around into the other two, satisfied to see that none of them were moving after that brief fight, although they'd given her some injuries in the process, and she was aching all over as she moved over to examine the body of the poor man who'd tried to run from her so recently, and brought about his own downfall.

However, as Katie examined the fallen man's possessions, she discovered two very interesting things. The first was a strange sculpture, about twice the size of a human hand, which was made in the shape of a claw, and seemed to be made of gold. The second was a journal, in which, it seemed, the man had written his plans and recent experiences. In spite of her hurry to complete her mission, Katie decided to read the journal, just to see if it would give her some clue about what to do next in that barrow.

Unfortunately, the journal didn't give her any of the answers she'd been looking for, but it did contain a passage that piqued her interest. It was an entry describing the claw that she held in her hands.

"I still can't believe how long it took to find the Golden Claw, but we finally have it. That fool Valerius had no idea what he had, although even if he'd known, I don't think he would have tried to use it. After all, what use would he have for the power of an ancient, nordic hero? Merchants don't care about that sort of thing, unless they can buy or sell it."

"The Hall of Stories holds the door that this key unlocks. I don't think any of the others really know what we're after, but I do, and as the fastest, I'll be the first to reach it. I can feel my fingers trembling, just thinking about it. The lost power; the Dovah-slayer."

Katie wasn't sure what to make of the journal entry. It seemed obvious that whoever that man had been, he'd been after some kind of special power, and was planning on using the golden claw as a sort of key, to reach it from a place called "the Hall of Stories," but as for what was meant by "Dovah-slayer," Katie wasn't sure. She suspected the term referred to a very powerful or special weapon of some kind, although there was no way to be certain about that.

Still, her own objective had to be further on in the barrow as well, so in a moment, Katie had taken another step forward, over the body of the dead man, and found a large, metal barricade, covered in sharp points, swinging around into her.

Perhaps the barricade had been intended to swing hard enough, and fast enough to impale its victims, or even to knock them into a wall, but Katie had reached up both arms to try to protect herself, and ended up grabbing the steel trap by two of the metal bars that composed it. The spring-loaded mechanism, which, it seemed, had caused it to swing in her direction, was still pushing against her, but she was pushing back. First, it was all she could do to hold her ground, then she began to slowly move it back the way it had come. She could hear the sound of the springs giving as she shoved the machine back, slowly, and with breaks every so often, until finally, she was able to slip past it, and released the mighty gate, letting it swing all the way around with a clang, as over-stressed screws and bolts fell to pieces behind her.

Katie's arms had gotten a little scraped-up as she'd been pushing the grating back, but compared to an arrow or a sword wound, it was nothing she couldn't handle, and pretty soon, she was continuing on, down the next tunnel.

The tunnel went on, down some stairs, and into some more draugrs. Their blows did hurt, but soon, all three were dead, just as before, and Katie found herself faced with yet another trapped hallway, wondering just how anyone was supposed to get past it. Some sort of mechanism was causing large, metal blades to swing back and forth across it at regular intervals. Too regular, in fact, and too close together. There wasn't enough space for her between the swinging blades, which meant that if she wanted to get past them, she needed to stop them from swinging somehow.

Katie got the glimmerings of an idea after thinking it over for a minute, and a much more concrete plan had formed in her mind just a few moments later. Quickly, she pulled out her spear again, and shoved it down the hallway. Soon, there was a mighty "clang," and she could see that all three blades had been stopped in mid-swing by her spear, and by one another. They seemed to still be groaning as they pushed against the spear, but that spear had been very well-made, and in just a few seconds, the groaning turned into a high-pitched whine, then a creaking, then the sound of something breaking, somewhere in the ceiling. In another second, down came the blades, falling out of their ceiling-mounted housings and clattering to the floor. That was it; the trap was sprung, and she proceeded down the tunnel unhindered, although she did still find the edges of the tunnel to be somewhat narrow and cramped.

Still, the tunnel opened up soon enough, into a larger hallway with oil on the ground and a lantern hanging over it. Katie could also hear more draugrs in the hallway ahead, so she began to unhook the lantern and took a step back, waiting for one of the draugrs to step into the oil before throwing the lantern into it. At once, every drop of oil in that chamber ignited, and the draugr was incinerated by the blaze that resulted, but unfortunately, there were two more behind it. Neither was very strong, though, and soon, Katie had continued through the hallway, and into an enclosed, rock chamber with a waterfall, a small river, blocked off by a metal gate, a large chest and a coffin, which, as she entered the chamber, unsealed itself. In moments, she was under attack by another Draugr, but it was dead soon, and after taking the meager contents of the chest, she moved on to the metal gate. Fortunately, there was a chain built into the wall right next to the gate, which, when pulled, caused it to open, so soon, she was on her way again.

Through cold tunnels and across a snow-covered path with an open ceiling, Katie continued on, slaying two more draugr as she made her way to a large pair of double doors, which opened easily enough, leading into another small chamber, another stone hallway, and a larger chamber filled with coffins. Soon, she was under attack by three more Draugr, but they weren't any stronger than the ones she'd fought already, though she did get an arrow or two in her skin during the fight. Then, she'd continued on, up some thick, wooden stairs and across a raised bridge to another doorway, and beyond that, a short hallway with sculptures on every wall. At the end of that hallway, however, Katie found herself faced with yet another puzzle; a door, from the looks of it, although it certainly wasn't like any door that she'd ever seen.

The door seemed to have been sculpted into a sort of mural, made out of many dozens of circles and spirals, with a series of small holes in the center which, when she took a moment to think about it, had probably been designed for the golden claw to fit into. After all, the journal entry that she'd recovered from the dead bandit had referred to it as a "key," so her first move was to try to put the golden claw into the holes, though as she'd suspected, nothing happened when she did so. Apparently, there was more to getting the door open than just having the right key.

That was when Katie noticed that some of the circles surrounding the keyhole had images on them, and when she reached out to touch them, she felt the images shift a little under her fingertips. Soon, she'd found that there were actually three stone rings, surrounding the keyhole, each of which could be rotated, to display different images. The images, however, didn't seem to mean much at first. There were basically three; a dragon head, a sword and what looked like a longbow. It looked like a simple kind of combination lock, which she might be able to figure out with just a few minutes worth of trying different combinations. Still, she suspected that there was some additional trick to it; maybe even a deadly trap, like the one that had accompanied the last puzzle room she'd visited, so she decided that it might be best to figure the puzzle out in her head first, before resorting to trial and error.

For several minutes, Katie puzzled over those symbols. The sword and the dragon she remembered from the first puzzle room, where she needed to point the sword towards the dragon, so that seemed to indicate that the dragon image should be positioned below the sword image, which was pointed downward, towards it. The only question was what the bow image was for, and whether the correct combination even had a bow in it at all. For a moment, she considered putting the dragon on the bottom, and two swords above it, but eventually decided against that. After all, in the first puzzle chamber, only one sword had needed to be pointed towards each dragon sculpture. No. It made more sense that the bow would need to be positioned somewhere in the combination, but where?

Katie couldn't piece it together, so she turned away from the door and started pacing, but although she thought about the puzzle for several minutes, she couldn't find that one clue that she was sure she was missing out on. Finally, she looked up, and, for the first time, truly noticed the beautiful sculptures that covered the walls of that hallway. She'd seen them briefly on the way in, but hadn't taken time to really look at them. They were very well-sculpted. The one right next to the door showed a warrior with a sword in one hand and a banner in the other, standing on top of the bodies of his defeated foes.

As she continued to think, Katie moved on to the next sculpture, which was a picture of three men, all attacking; a warrior in the foreground of the sculpture, and in the back, two more men, one of whom was throwing fire from his hands, and the other, an archer taking aim with a bow.

The next image that Katie saw was of those same three men, all charging forward, into a sea of vicious enemies, all heavily armed and armored. Katie briefly took a look at the other sculptures, on the other side of the room too. One showed the murdering of a king by a large barbarian with an axe, but the other two were scenes of battle; usually with the soldiers and archers doing most of the fighting, as their commanding officers urged them on from atop their horses. They were apparently sculptures, intended to depict the life cycle of a war or battle of some kind, but what they meant for the combination, or if they even meant anything, she couldn't seem to figure out. She stood there, looking at the carvings and pondering the combination for several more minutes, her head hurting from the fruitless puzzling.

Finally, however, something did occur to her, and she rushed back to the carving of the three attacking figures, to look at it again. Something about the barrow had been bothering her since she'd first entered it, and she'd finally begun to realize what it was; it was all about combat. Her first puzzle had been all about aiming swords at dragons; combat. The man who'd died at the hands of those draugr had been in pursuit of some powerful weapon; combat. Finally, every last one of the sculptures in that room seemed to be centered around combat in some way; how combat starts, how it ends, the life cycle of combat. It was, she reasoned, clearly the mindset of whoever had designed that place.

Then, she began to have an inkling of what the puzzle was about. Obviously, the sword pointed to the dragon, but then, the question was, where would the bowman be? At once, Katie headed back to the doorway and started turning the rings again, until the dragon was at the bottom, the sword right above it, and above that, the bow. It was, she reasoned, the only answer that made sense. The dragon attacks, the swordsman lashes out against it from up close, while the archer fires from a distance. With a big, broad smile over having figured out the answer, Katie inserted the claw into the keyholes and twisted it.

However, for some reason, the key still wasn't turning. It was the right combination. Katie was sure about that. She must have missed something, or forgotten some step. However, just as she was reaching up for the dragon ring again, she noticed that something had changed about the symbols. Where once, they'd simply been protruding carvings, there was suddenly a bit of space between them and the surrounding stone; not much, just a crack. Still, when she touched the dragon carving, she could feel that with only a little effort, it could be pushed into the door like a button of some kind. It surprised her, but before attempting to push it, she looked up at the other two symbols, and sure enough, the same had happened to the bow and sword.

Katie was starting to wonder what that meant. Was it asking her what kind of person she was; a monster, warrior or archer? Was it asking her whether she preferred to fight in melee, ranged or supernatural combat, or, she was a little scared to think, was it asking her what she'd be most prepared to face; archers, warriors or supernatural beasts?

In any case, she realized, her answer would have been the same, and in just another moment, putting the claw back into the keyholes, she pressed down on the sword image, and felt the claw starting to turn. She'd had no way to be certain that her choice was right, but it seemed like the best answer she could give, and soon, she heard a click from within the door, and the huge thing began to roll back, into a recess in one of the walls, allowing Katie to pass before it slammed shut behind her.

She hadn't been sure what to expect from the chamber beyond the locked door, but it was well-lit, at any rate, if very cold. She was glad to have her fur-lined coat, and soon, she found herself stepping forward, into the chamber. As she moved on, she noticed that large stalactites had formed into big, stone pillars in there, and holes in the stony roof were letting in the light of the sun from outside, which was the main reason why the place was so well-lit. There, beyond the pillars, she could see a set of stone steps that were either natural, or designed to look that way, leading up to a raised platform with a coffin near one edge. She was starting to get a bad feeling about that coffin, but regardless, she proceeded up the steps towards it, and sure enough, as she neared it, off came the stone lid, shattering to pieces on the stony floor, and another draugr was on the attack.

That draugr was larger and stronger-looking than all the others she'd faced up to that point, and it had gotten the drop on her with a swipe of its sword. Still, Katie recovered quickly, jamming her spear into the beast with all her might. That was when the monster opened its mouth, and shouted.

It wasn't like any kind of shout that Katie had ever heard; as loud as a bullhorn, and made to sound even louder by the way it echoed through the whole cavern they were in. In seconds, however, she started to realize what the shout had been intended to do, as she felt strong vibrations start to buffet her from the front. It started out at just a strong, shaking sensation, then quickly began to feel as though an angry bull were repeated slamming into her stomach, face and chest. However, she braced both legs against the ground, taking the full force of the strange, magical attack, and refusing to be bowled over by it, which seemed to have surprised the draugr. More importantly, through it all, Katie had managed to keep hold of her spear, which was far more difficult than remaining standing in the face of that maelstrom. Each was an impressive accomplishment, though. A lesser person would have been flung against the far wall by the attack, and lost their spear in the process.

Thanks to that, Katie was able to make her next attack quickly, jabbing out with her weapon, and just managing to deliver a clean blow into her enemy's midsection. Still, it seemed that the draugr had decided not to try the shout again, since it clearly wasn't working, and leapt forward, slashing into Katie as far as it could, though its attack wasn't as devastating as her next jab with her spear, forcing it back again.

The creature seemed to be on its last legs, starting to buckle under all the damage it had taken, but the unnatural glow that streamed from its eyes made it hard to doubt that it would continue its attack for as long as it could. Draugr, after all, were not animals. They were undead, and they didn't have any instinct for self-preservation.

Once more, the undead creature launched into an attack, swiping away at Katie, and cutting into her one last time, before she split it open with an upwards swing of her spear, and the fight was over.

Katie was aching a little, but really, the hardest thing about exploring the barrow had been getting past the bandits guarding the entrance. After that, she'd somewhat overestimated how difficult the job would be. Better yet, as she slowly searched the disgusting remains of the draugr, she found the very thing she'd been looking for; a tablet of stone with a series of strange symbols on it, which, she guessed, must be the one that Farengar had been after. She scooped it up quickly, then turned to look around one last time. The area where she'd fought the draugr was a large, raised platform of stone, with a shelf, an empty coffin, and a large and fancy-looking chest. Still, what really drew her attention was the wall that was in the opposite direction, just slightly away from the platform. In just a few seconds, she'd descended towards it, and there, she could see that what had seemed, at first, like a simple roughness along the wall was, from closer up, actually a series of strange letters, which had been carved into the stone.

Katie looked over the letters for several seconds, but they didn't seem to be pictures of anything, and they weren't in any language she recognized. She couldn't make any sense of them, though she suspected that Farengar might have been able to.

After that, she was just starting to notice the exit; a disappointingly-long staircase, when she remembered something important; she hadn't searched the shelves or gone through the treasure chest yet. For some reason, Katie found it a little harder to get back up onto the raised platform than she had the last time, but she was still up there within a minute. She was just about to open the chest, when suddenly, a strange thought entered her head, seemingly unbidden. She found herself wondering if it wouldn't be best to look through the bookshelf first.

As odd as the thought was, Katie did back away from the chest a moment later, but looking through the shelves only took a few seconds. She found some odd-looking gemstones there, and was just about to leave...

Suddenly, she remembered the treasure chest again, and she began to feel scared. It was the third time in a minute and a half that she'd forgotten about or turned aside from that chest, as though some will other than her own was trying to keep her away from it. Even as she stood, staring at the chest, she could feel a pounding, growing urge to turn away; to leave the cavern and forget about the chest and its contents. There was a strong sensation, that whatever was in that chest, it was meaningless, or perhaps evil or dangerous; too dangerous. Unreasoning fear was just beginning to well up in her heart, almost to the point of banishing rational thought from her mind, when she shook herself angrily and lunged towards the chest, flinging it open in one motion and reaching inside, then grabbing the first item that she could.

Katie had been terrified for a few seconds, because she knew that there was something intruding into her thoughts, some kind of powerful illusion magic, tempting her to go against her better nature; to panic for no reason, instead of thinking her actions through properly. The reasons why that terrified her weren't hard to see. Ever since childhood, her father had always warned her against impulsiveness. Always, he'd said, make sure you have a good reason for everything you do. Of course, it had been good advice, and Katie had a lot of practice at it. That was why she'd been so worried. It was horrifying to think of suddenly losing control of her emotions; the victim of some wizard's spell.

She suspected that it had been a curse of some kind on the chest, but whatever kind of spell it had been, its effects were starting to fade, as she grasped the contents of the old treasure box, and slowly pulled it out. The moment that she saw what she'd retrieved, however, she started to feel merely puzzled. She was holding a sword in her hand; a basic, one-handed longsword, from the looks of it. It was well-crafted, of course; without any abnormal grooves in the metal, as far as she could tell, and certainly, it didn't have any scratches or dents, nor was it rusted. In fact, the sword almost looked as though it had been made the day before. There was, however, one thing about it that deeply puzzled her. The entire sword, from the tip of its blade, all the way down to the end of its hilt, was made of some kind of black metal.

At first, Katie thought that the substance might have been ebony, but she'd seen ebony once before, at her father's forge, being traded for a full suit of usable armor, then sold to another blacksmith in Elinhir for an impressive sum. She remembered what the ebony had looked like, and it had been much more lustrous than the black sword she was holding. Still, in a moment, she'd tied the sword to one of the straps that her pouches hung from, and headed for the stairs, climbing up them, and into another small hallway, with an obvious lever, which she quickly pulled, causing the entire rock wall in front of her to slide into the ground, and revealing a path onward, which eventually lead past a small pedestal with a skull on top, to another opening in the rock, through which light from outside was streaming, and it was through that opening; just a little over two yards wide, that Katie left those tunnels, leaving Bleak Falls Barrow behind, and emerging out onto the mountainside again.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. You can't check the vitals of a dead person in Skyrim.

2. The puzzle in the first puzzle chamber (the one with the dragon heads,) is one that I invented, because frankly, the one that Bethesda put in the game was pathetically-easy; more of a delay than a puzzle, and would have made for boring reading.

3. You can't skewer multiple enemies in a row in Skyrim, nor can you lift enemies into the air or swing them into their fellows. This is just the kind of stuff that Katie does when she gets an 18+ on her attack rating rolls, with bonuses added in.

4. I rewrote the bandit's journal entry, because the way it was written in the game itself was -horrible.- By this I mean that in the game, the journal was exposition about the claw, and it -read like- exposition. No one could have mistaken it for a real journal entry.

5. The gate traps in the game can't be overpowered, regardless of the level of your character's strength in the game, and this, really, is part of a larger issue; namely, the whole handling of traps in Skyrim. They're designed so that really, there's only one way to avoid them; and that's to keep an eye out for trap triggers, and be careful not to trigger them, like a sneak thief. Why can't there be other ways to avoid or get past traps, for fighters and magic users specifically. Well, in this story, there are.

6. As much sense as it makes to be able to break dungeon traps, as Katie does with the swinging axe-blades, this is not possible in Skyrim.

7. This one bothers me. You can't pick up or throw the lanterns suspended over the oil. Sure, you can knock them down with a bow and arrow, or with a melee weapon (less advisable,) but the basic "grab" function of your hands? Sorry. Not possible.

8. The entire hall of stories puzzle is totally different, since again, the puzzles in Skyrim are an embarrassment.

9. In the game, the wall with the carved letters on it is written in the dragon language, and will teach your character a word of a dragon shout. For some reason, this is not a gift that Katie has, unlike the dragonborn in the game. Instead, she finds the black sword, another item that's not in the game itself.

10. In the game, the pedestal with the skull also has several flower petals on it, but as it doesn't make sense for flower petals to appear on a pedestal, deep in a dungeon, without rotting away, Katie doesn't find them here.


	8. Chapter 8: The Heroes of War

Chapter 8: The Heroes of War

* * *

Unfortunately, the mountainside that Katie had emerged onto was a completely different one from the one she'd entered by. Apparently, the barrow had run all the way through the mountain, and she found herself coming out of a cave, in a completely new location; one that she'd never seen before. There were, of course, problems with that; the biggest one being that she was completely lost.

She wandered for almost seven hours, climbing down the mountainside, then between trees, and back and forth across a nearby river until, by pure luck, she found herself within sight of Riverwood, so by that point, it was obvious where she was, and in less than another hour, she was back within sight of the gates of Whiterun, where the guards apparently remembered her, silently stepping aside to let her through the gates.

Katie had used some of the healing potions that she'd found in the dungeon, saving her own last healing potion for an emergency. She'd also taken another sniff from her stamina potion, which had given back most of her energy, though it hadn't been quite as potent at last time. Still, she wasn't about to risk tasting any just yet.

Physically, however, Katie was feeling as healthy as ever by the time she pushed open the double doors that lead back into the Jarl's house. Her wounds were completely gone, and she wasn't even feeling tired. Aside from being pretty hungry and thirsty, after the last several hours that she'd spent wandering in the wild, she could almost have fooled herself into thinking that her whole adventure hadn't even happened.

She was still feeling a little irritable over all she'd just needed to do to get the tablet for Farengar, and more than half expected that he wouldn't appreciate it, which only made her feel a little more irritated as she walked into the wizard's room and dropped the stone tablet on his desk.

However, as soon as she looked up from the desk, she realized that there was someone else standing there, besides Farengar; someone who she'd never seen before. She was several years older than Katie, and thin, but not skinny. She was dressed in light armor, but Katie could tell that there were powerful muscles under that armor; well trained from real battle. The woman had short, blond hair, although it was mostly covered by a hood, and she'd been making demands from Farengar when Katie had approached. However, the moment she'd dropped the stone on the desk, both of them had fallen silent at once. The woman looked a bit irritated by the interruption, but Farengar seemed genuinely surprised.

"You!" Farengar gasped in amazement, "You're still al... I mean, you've got the stone. Amazing."

"It wasn't easy to get." Katie replied in a somewhat perturbed tone of voice, though she was still trying not to show how angry she really was.

By that point, however, it seemed that Farengar had mastered his surprise, because a moment later, he remarked, "I'm glad to see you weren't a pushover, like most of the thugs I use for running errands. Maybe we can work together again some day."

Of course, Katie had no real desire to do that, if it could be helped, and a moment later, she spoke up again, trying to get back to the subject that mattered to her.

"I was supposed to receive some kind of reward, in exchange for this job." she reminded him, but of course, he began trying to wave the subject away.

"I'm sure the Jarl will reward you appropriately if you ask him, or maybe his steward."

The words weren't out of Farengar's mouth for more than a moment before Katie had spun around and headed back for the archway to the throne room, fuming inside at the man's callousness and uncaring demeanor; particularly after all she'd just been through in pursuit of his precious tablet. She could hear the woman in the armor asking Farengar some questions after that, and a bit of shouting going on, but she was tired of dealing with him, and she didn't really want to talk to the Jarl yet, either. Some words that her mother had once said to her were just starting to return to her mind.

"Try to steer clear of very rich folks, honey. If you've got a choice, I wouldn't even do business with them. Remember, they don't get rich by paying people what they're worth."

For some reason, even in a lousy situation like that one, the memory of her mother made Katie feel a little better, and in spite of all the grief she'd suffered over the last week, she had a smile on her face as she left the Jarl's house and headed down to the marketplace.

* * *

The marketplace, as it turned out, was a good place for selling goods of all sorts, and Katie spent the next half hour getting good prices for the various gems, treasures, weapons and pieces of armor that she'd found during her escapades in the barrow, except, of course, for the black sword. For some reason, she didn't feel as though it would be right to sell it, even though she'd never used a sword before, and couldn't picture herself using one. She kept a number of odd items which, according to her bottle, were ingredients for potions, as well as the remaining healing potions that she'd found in the dungeon, but she sold most of the other goods that she'd found there.

Even after all of that trouble, Katie still didn't have quite enough money for the armor she'd thought about purchasing. Still, she had made quite a bit, all things considered, and in just a few moments, she found herself stepping through the front doors of the Bannered Mare again.

Several faces were familiar in there; Hulda, some of the waitresses, and of course, the bard had all been there the last time she'd visited. However, most of the customers were different. There was a large, broad-shouldered man in wealthy nord attire, a group of unshaven men in light armor, who Katie assumed were hunters, all having meals and drinks at three separate tables, and three women at another table, two of whom were tall and thin, while the last was somewhat shorter, an a little heavier than Hulda, though not by much. At the back of the inn, there was a nord woman, wearing a strong-looking suit of armor without a helmet, a tall, powerfully-build man with an iron helmet on his head, which had horns on it, sticking out to the sides, and in the furthest corner of the room...

Katie started a little when she saw the person sitting there, because she'd seen him there before; the last time she'd been to the Bannered Mare. It was the man in the black robe; the one who'd seemed to have utterly-empty eyes, and who hadn't spared her a glance the last time she'd been there. That time, she saw in dismay, things were different. From the very moment that she'd noticed him, he'd begun to stare directly at her; not a perplexed stare, or an admiring one, or a disgusted look, or any form of simple look like those. He was looking at her, merely as though he were trying to discern something about her; something hidden. For a moment, Katie actually thought about just leaving that place, and never looking back, but then she took a moment to think about the situation.

She'd been in that kind of situation many times before, over the years; stared at by passers-by, and often the center of attention. At times, she'd even done what she could to encourage others to pay attention to her, and she wouldn't even have noticed the staring stranger, if he'd been anyone else. Having thought it through, therefore, she decided, at last, to just ignore him for the time being. Maybe, she reasoned, he'd get tired of staring at her after a while. At the very least, it seemed unlikely that he would make any attempt to attack her in a packed inn like that one.

Hulda, it seemed, was glad to see Katie again, and offered her a table near the far end of the inn. They talked for a moment about what the special was for the night, and Katie put down a few gold coins. Soon, she had a complete, three-course meal laid out on the table in front of her, along with a mug of mead that probably held about a quart. After all her time in the wild, and all her adventures, Katie felt absolutely famished, and soon dug into the meat she'd bought, pulling the bowl of soup a little closer as well. She'd just finished the meat, and was about halfway through the soup, and reaching for the bread, when the bard put away the small drum he'd been using, retrieved a lyre from a spot on the floor nearby, and started strumming on it, singing a song about a mighty warrior, who behaved badly, and was eventually beheaded for it by a woman. Katie thought it was a pretty revolting song; almost seeming to glorify cold-blooded murder, and apparently, most of the people in the inn agreed with her, since not one of them had joined in the song.

She was still hungry a moment later, when she stood up, but there was something else that she wanted to do, before finishing her meal. Soon, she'd stepped over to the bard, who looked a little nervous at first, though his nervousness faded a moment later, as she spoke to him.

"Hello. I'm Katie." she said with a bright smile on her face, "What's your name?"

"Mikael." he replied, returning the smile as he looked her up and down, "Any requests for tonight, Miss Katie?"

"Maybe. Do you know the song 'The Heroes of War?'"

Mikael's face fell as she asked that question, however.

"I'm afraid not, Miss. I've heard of it, but I can't play it. I don't know the tune."

"Would you like me to teach it to you?" she asked brightly, resting one hand on the pillar against which the bard was leaning. He brightened up again when she suggested that.

"Thank you, miss." he said, "I'd love to learn it, if it won't take long."

"Let's start with the music, then." she replied, "I'll hum it for you, and you try to play it back."

Mikael, as it turned out, was -very- skilled with his lyre, and was able to replicate the tune (a simple repetition composed of forty-six notes,) in a very short time. That was when Katie decided that it was time to move on to the lyrics, and began singing in a slightly higher pitch than the one she normally used when speaking.

"This tale is a tale about Camas the brave,  
who crept to the Aldmeri stronghold unseen.  
With good information, the scout sought to save  
all the men of his army. His purpose was keen."

"He crept through the stronghold; harmed no one at all,  
got all that he needed, though it was a chore.  
The men of his army soon answered the call,  
and perished as mighty heroes of the war."

"The fate of the warrior, the end that he gained,  
The heroes of war will not say they regret.  
With charity bold; for their families they strained.  
Gaining their place through the fate that they met."

"This tale is of Mani; apprentice of old.  
The last of his order, who seldom are seen.  
When the Thalmor attacked, he was offered their gold,  
and for his refusal, he died a death clean."

"Against five of the Thalmor, he stood by himself,  
Alone and unskilled in the arts that they knew.  
Yet, he surrendered to no man or elf,  
and made his last stand as the dark shadows grew."

"The fate of the warrior, the end that he gained,  
The heroes of war will not say they regret.  
With charity bold; for their families they strained.  
Gaining their place through the fate that they met."

"The hunter, the proud; the great Talib the strong,  
with great spear in hand, lead his men through the land.  
Tiring, hungry, they marched very long,  
pursuing their foes in the path that they'd planned."

"More foes did they face; more enemies slay,  
than any contingent in record or song.  
Through the many they slew in their battles that day,  
they gained their reward, from the sharp, elven throng."

"The fate of the warrior, the end that he gained,  
The heroes of war will not say they regret.  
With charity bold; for their families they strained.  
Gaining their place through the fate that they met."

With the final verse of the song finished, Katie turned to go back to her table, but much to her surprise, just as she was about to sit down, she heard the sound of swift clapping from one side of the room. It amazed her that anyone had been that impressed by her singing, since she never considered herself a very good singer, and in surprised her even more to discover that the person applauding her was the man in the black robe, who, for the first time in all the times she'd ever seen him, had a pleased smile on his face as he clapped. It made Katie feel relieved, for some reason.

Soon, the large, richly-dressed man had joined in the applause, as did the broad-shouldered nord in the iron helmet, and lastly, the many men in the light armor. The applause didn't last for very long, but it was enough for her. It was a song she'd known ever since she'd been a little girl, and she hadn't expected it to go over so well. Still, it was good that so many people had enjoyed it, she thought.

However, in just another moment, two of the men in that inn had gotten to their feet, and started walking in her direction, even as she finished the very satisfying meal that had been set in front of her. One of them was the broad-shouldered, wealthy-looking man, and the other the man in the black robe. Katie wasn't sure what to do, at first, or what to expect from those two men, but it seemed that both of them wanted to speak to her. Soon, however, they both stopped within inches of each other, and the richly-dressed man looked curiously at the black-robed individual.

"Mine can wait, if you'd like, Lord Battle-Born." the man in the robe said casually, which drew a smile from the rich nord.

"Much obliged, stranger." he replied, and in moments, he'd taken a seat at the table, opposite Katie, as the man in the robe remained standing. It was just as well that he did, because Lord Battle-Born was such a broad man, that there was only barely room enough for himself and Katie at that table.

"My name is Olfrid Battle-Born; lord of the Battle-Born clan and owner of the Battle-Born Farms." he said with a smile, "Might I ask for your name?"

"Katie." she replied quickly, though she wasn't sure whether she liked the man or not.

"A redguard name..." Battle-Born remarked, stroking his thin beard as he thought it over, "You've come from Hammerfell, then. Welcome home, sister."

"Thank you." Katie replied, not sure what else to say, for the moment.

"I'll get straight to the point." Battle-Born said at last, "I make it a point to know everyone in Whiterun who's worth knowing, and as you're a newcomer, and have already had dealings with the Jarl, I felt it would be prudent to introduce myself, and to offer the hospitality of my family's hall, if you should ever be in the northwest districts. Ask anyone there where my house is. They all know me."

"Thank you, Olfrid." Katie replied with a nod; generally starting to like the man, though she was still a little suspicious of him, "Was there anything else that you wanted to know? My business with the Jarl, maybe?"

"No, no." Battle-Born insisted, holding up both hands, his smile still not fading as he spoke, "One mustn't rush these things. I'd never ask a friend for favors on our first meeting. It's hardly honorable. Maybe some other time, but not now. I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to Whiterun."

"Thank you, Mister Battle-Born." Katie replied for the third time, and in a moment, the large man had stood back up, shaken Katie's hand heartily, and with one more glance at the stranger in the black robes, set off to one of the other tables to talk with someone else. Overall, it had been a positive encounter, although she couldn't quite shake the feeling that the man wasn't entirely trustworthy. She was still thinking along those lines, when she noticed that the man in the black robe had taken a seat at her table; not across from her, as Battle-Born had done, but right next to her; within two inches of her right arm.

"That was quite a song, miss." the black-robed man said, smiling, "I've heard it before, in better inns, and frankly, from better singers, but every time I hear it, it always helps me remember who I really am. You've got my thanks for that."

"You're welcome." Katie replied, not sure what else to say. Unlike Battle-Born, that man had a roughness to his manner, and he wasn't exactly a smooth talker, but still, there was something about him that she felt she could trust.

"Are you a warrior?" the man asked, looking up into her face as he placed both elbows on the table, grinning a bit mischievously at her as he spoke.

"I've never fought in a war, if that's what you're asking." Katie replied, but the man's gaze didn't become any less intent when she said that.

"That's not really what I meant, but it doesn't matter." he explained, "I'm just curious. I'm a warrior, and that song... Well, it felt like waking up again after a long, long time. I've been in many battles. You see, if you were a warrior, I'd have offered you some training, but I can see you're not. Not yet. You might be someday, though. If that happens..."

However, the moment the man said that, Katie burst out laughing, her whole, bean-shaped body shaking as she laughed. Finally, her laughter died down, and she looked back at the black-robed man, but for some reason, the intensity of his gaze hadn't diminished at all, even while she'd been laughing.

"Me? A warrior?" Katie asked, chuckling a little more as she leaned back away from the table.

"Why not?" the black-robed man asked, "You've been in battle."

"That's just because I was desperate to help my family." Katie explained, "I just want to set up a nice little shop, or a bar, or maybe even an inn like this one, and just spend the rest of my life there. That's all I want."

However, by that point, Katie could see the man's pearly, white teeth through his eager smile, and in just a second, he'd stood up, still smiling.

"All the best warriors say the same, at first." he replied, turning to leave the inn, "Still, you might be right. We'll have to wait and see."

Then, in a few seconds, he'd strode over to the front door and was gone.

* * *

Katie was still feeling pretty curious about the black-robed man, but she didn't leave the inn for more than another half hour. She'd taken a few moments to go talk to the group of hunters who'd also applauded her song, and pretty soon, they were all singing extremely loudly and badly. They sang together for about fifteen minutes, and she learned a couple of new songs, and badly irritated the bard, who, for some reason, thought that the singing was his job. In fact, they sang for long enough that she started to get hungry again.

The rest of the time that she spent in the inn that evening was divided between ordering and eating another meal, and buying some supplies to take with her; mainly bread and fruit, since she didn't have any way to keep meat fresh. The end result, of course, was that in spite of her problems, she was feeling happier, fuller and more energetic when she left the inn, and less bothered by the overall callousness of the rich folks who she'd recently helped.

Just then, however, as she was starting to wonder whether it would be a good time to get her clothes stitched after the battles she'd been in recently, Katie heard the sounds of rapid clinking from nearby, and realized that several men were running in her direction. She stepped back as quickly as she could, as six well-armed and armored guardsmen rushed past her in the direction of Whiterun's front gates. For a few moments, she wondered where they were going in such a hurry, and was just about to write it off as a response to a burglary or some such thing, when she heard someone speaking from very nearby; a little girl in a green dress, with long, black hair, talking to a slightly taller girl with short, brown hair, who was wearing a red dress.

"...Heard it was a dragon."

"Really? I never saw one of those before!"

"I'm not going anywhere near it. I've got enough problems without messing with dragons."

"You're such a coward, Lucia! You never want to do anything fun!"

"You go ahead and find the dragon if you want, Braith. I don't care! I hope it roasts you alive!"

At once, Katie was off down the street in the direction of the front gates of Whiterun, and sure enough, there was a gathering of guards there; all armed with both bows and melee weapons; generally swords or axes. Clearly, they were planning to head out and face a fearsome enemy, though she knew she wouldn't be satisfied until she'd gotten some confirmation on what she'd just heard.

"Sir..." Katie said as she approached the guards, who were all standing in formation by that point, "Is it true that there's a dragon near the city?"

"Too near." One of the guards replied, "Please stay back."

However, although Katie did back away from the guards, she could tell that even they were terrified, and with good reason. Of all of them, she was the only one who'd seen a dragon up close before, and it had laid waste to an entire town at the time. She'd seen the dragon fly, shrug off arrows, breathe fire and cast spells, and, she reasoned, if it could do all of that, it could probably eradicate the city guards, and at the very least, cause a huge amount of death in that area, if not wipe out Whiterun completely.

Quickly, she moved to the front gates, and pushed them both open, so that she could step outside, and have a look around, and she was outside of the city walls even before the guards were. She had to look around for a couple minutes before she even caught sight of a shadow in the distance, which seemed to belong to some kind of old watchtower, and for a moment, she thought that she saw something moving near it, but she couldn't be sure. However, after another minute of squinting, Katie was just able to make out the distant shape of some flying object near the tower, and that told her all she needed to know. It was a dragon, alright, and it was close by.

As fast as she could manage, she started off down the path away from town and in the direction of the tower; determined to get a closer look at the dragon; if only to see whether it was the same one that had attacked Helgen. She made good time in getting out from behind Whiterun's many walls, and passing beyond the various farms and houses that surrounded the city; all of which, she knew, would be in danger if the dragon decided to attack. However, as she got closer to the tower, the dragon flew around behind it, and was almost completely lost from her sight. She'd been able to tell that it was a black dragon, however.

The next glimpse that Katie caught of the dragon was no better than the first. Again, the dragon was clearly black, so it might have been the same one that had attacked Helgen. Then again, it didn't look quite as large from where she was, and if there were more than one, then scale color alone would be a bad means of identifying it. She continued to draw a little closer to the tower, until she reached a road sign, and was able to hear some nearby voices, one of which she recognized. As curious as she'd been up to that point, the voice of the Dark Elf bodyguard from the court of Whiterun had caught Katie off guard, and she almost forgot about the dragon.

After looking around for a few moments, Katie found the dark elf woman; still dressed in full armor, along with a few guards, who were standing at attention as they listened to her, giving them orders.

"We'll need to approach slowly, from many directions at once. Draw your bows first, and be ready to fire at any time." the dark elf explained to the guards, "Don't even bother drawing your swords unless it lands. We need to try to corner it, and get it into a position where we can all fire at once from different directions."

"Captain, I have a question." one of the guards said a bit nervously.

"What is it?"

"Well, do we know for sure that the dragon can be hurt by arrows at all?"

There was a brief pause, and by that point, Katie had caught up with the others, and the dark elf had clearly noticed her. However, she replied to the guard as if Katie wasn't even there.

"This may not be what you want to hear, Mister Snadir, but it's not our job to hurt the dragon. There are reinforcements coming after us to take care of that. All we have to do is attack it from every side, and then survive and get back to Whiterun somehow."

"So... this is just a scouting mission?"

"Do you have a problem with that, soldier?" the dark elf asked with a dispassionate coldness in her voice, which, in a way, was more threatening than anger.

"No, Captain Irileth!" the guard exclaimed, standing firmly at attention again.

"Then draw your bows and prepare to move into position. I'll expect you all to be read to advance in precisely fifteen minutes. Move in when you see me start my advance."

"Yes, Captain Irileth!" the soldiers all replied as one, and immediately, they all began sprinting off in different directions; directions that had apparently been assigned to them before Katie had found them. In a moment, however, she'd advanced towards Irileth and remarked casually "You keep them on kind of a short leash, don't you?"

"I can tell that you, at least, have never commanded men in battle." Irileth replied somewhat derisively, "When you're giving men a task, and you expect them to obey, you need to give orders directly, and in a clear, strong voice."

"My mother uses the same kind of voice on my dad sometimes." Katie admitted, remembering her family with some fondness, "It basically works just the way you said."

For a moment, Irileth actually turned to look at Katie again, with a slightly confused expression on her face, but at last, the captain sighed, and replied to her, though a bit less harshly than before.

"It's because men aren't like women." Irileth explained at last, "Women may respond to politeness and a reasonable spirit, but you won't get men that way. Give them tasks, though; uncompromising orders and a strongly-worded mission, and show them your strength... That gets their attention, and often, their respect as well."

Katie wasn't sure what to say in response to that, but Irileth didn't seem like she wanted to continue the conversation anyway, and when she did speak again, she'd changed the subject.

"Ordinarily, I'd tell you that surviving one barrow wasn't such an impressive task, and that you were most certainly not a soldier, and probably never would be," Irileth explained as she slung a quiver of arrows over one shoulder and held her own bow in one hand, "but as you're the only person here who's survived a real dragon raid, that puts you in the unusual position of being an utter handicap, and yet, an utter necessity."

"So, you're saying I'll probably get in the way, but you need me anyway." Katie noted, trying to sum the captain's words up.

"Don't think I'm happy about it." Irileth almost snarled, but Katie had to struggle to keep from chuckling over that response.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked after spending a few seconds fighting back a giggle.

"When you were attacked by the dragon before, did anyone think to fire anything at it?"

"Sure." Katie replied, "There was a whole crowd of guards firing arrows at it, but it didn't do much."

Irileth seemed irritated to hear that, but she didn't put down her bow, or try to signal to the others. She was, it seemed, determined to test that dragon's hide, whether it seemed likely to matter or not, and soon, she'd asked another question.

"How did you escape from the dragon, in the end?"

"Well... I ran between buildings, went underground, moved through dungeons and caves inhabited by enemy soldiers, until..."

"In other words, you found cover quickly, and then crawled into a hole and hid."

"Sort of, although it seemed a lot more impressive than that at the time." Katie admitted, feeling a little insulted by the rather minimalistic summation of her adventures.

"My only concern is that none of that is an option here." Irileth admitted bitterly, "There's no cover for over five dozen yards except the watchtower, and if we get stuck in there, the dragon could just bring the whole thing down on top of us, or guard it and wait for us to starve. We, at least, don't have any underground tunnels to escape through."

That was the first time that Katie had looked up at the tower and actually gotten a good view of it. The tower was only a couple dozen yards away, and it was made from stone, and seemed to be about the same height as the bandit tower that she'd raided on her way to Bleak Falls Barrow. It wasn't very big around, but it had an open roof, allowing guards to stand on the very top of the tower and fire down at approaching enemies. There were also tiny, slit-like windows along the walls; more positions for archers to take up. It was a well-designed watchtower overall, though it seemed to have fallen into disrepair over the years. Several pieces of one of the walls had fallen to the ground, and a few large chunks of stone littered the grass around it; not enough to provide significant cover from a flying enemy, but maybe just enough, Katie thought, to slow one down.

However, Irileth was on the move in seconds, rushing towards the tower at a sprint, and barking a single order to Katie as she went.

"Try to keep up, and if it looks like it's about to fire at us, we'll split up!"

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. Katie gets badly lost in this chapter. The presence of "fast traveling" and quest arrows (essentially turning every quest into a speedy arrow hunt,) make this impossible in the base game, and I honestly forget whether any mods have addressed this.

2. Katie leaves the Jarl's house as soon as she returns the tablet, and isn't present for the emergency meeting with the Jarl; pertaining to the dragon. In the game, if you're not there for the meeting, it doesn't happen.

3. Some of the inhabitants of the Bannered Mare are nonexistent in the game itself. Hunters don't gather together in groups to eat, drink and sing in the game. Neither do town women, none of whom are notably taller, shorter or heavier than any others, and the man in the black robe isn't in the game.

4. You can buy food at the Bannered Mare, but you can't have it served at a table, nor can you eat it without putting it into your inventory. It's not run like a restaurant in the game, and doesn't have a "special."

5. You can't interfere with the bard's songs, or make up your own in Skyrim, and you can't teach him any new songs.

6. Olfrid doesn't stop to speak with you in the game. At least not here, or for this reason, though this kind of attitude would only be natural for a man in his position.

7. Irileth asks you no questions at this point in the game, and in fact, though she depends on your skill in battle, she seems to show no interest at all in your past experiences with dragons.


	9. Chapter 9: Dragonborn

Chapter 9: Dragonborn

* * *

Katie did indeed try to keep up, but Irileth was much faster, and already had a head start, so she could only think of one way, realistically, to catch up to her. Quickly, she drew out her spear, held it up, with the spearhead facing the ground, and charged forward, full speed, wedging the spear into the ground as she went. In moments, she'd used it to vault several yards through the air, her odd center of gravity actually causing her to rotate in mid-air and land back on her feet again. In fact, the experiment in pole-vaulting had been so successful, that she decided to try it again, just a few seconds later.

Katie couldn't run very fast, or normally, jump very far, but she'd soon realized that with a little practice, she could use her spear to vault across a large distance, and the only drawback seemed to be a slight feeling of disorientation, and a minor ache once the feat was accomplished. Right then and there, she managed to perform three vaults, one right after the other, and catch up to Irileth without much difficulty, but it amazed her just how quickly she'd already learned to recover from one vault, and execute another one.

Soon, however, the dragon had emerged from its spot behind the tower, and sure enough, it was a terrifying sight; a horrible, black-scaled monster, nearly as broad as the tower itself, and yet, from where she was, Katie could see that it wasn't the same dragon that she'd seen before. That meant that there was more than one; which, in a way, was even worse news than of she'd needed to confront the same dragon again.

However, all comparisons soon faded back into her thoughts, as the ground below her feet began to shine, and Irileth, noticing the change, shouted "Run!"

Katie hurried out of the range of that shining light, just as it exploded into a pillar of flame, and she could still feel the oppressive heat behind her as she ran, but when she looked up, there was the dragon; its enormous snout pointed in her direction, and suddenly, it opened its mouth...

Katie saw the fire emerging from its mouth only a second before it hit, and she had very little time to react. She knew that she didn't have enough time to stop her forward momentum and turn around, and she knew that she couldn't outrun the blast of flame. Jumping over it was an absurd notion; not even worth considering, and there wasn't enough room for her to duck under it. However, as she contemplated her options, she realized that there was one that hadn't been obvious at first.

Just as the fire drew near, Katie leaned over to the left in mid-run, and jammed her spear into the ground again. She could feel her left hip descending to the grass below her, and in just a moment, using her spear as a support, she spun herself around on the ground, rotating all the way around, until she righted herself on the other side of the spear, giving her three yards worth of breathing space in just a couple of seconds. It wasn't much, but as it turned out, it was just enough. The dragon fire scorched the grass right where she'd been standing, and the heat was starting to make her sweat, but her quick thinking had saved her from a third degree burn or two. The only question, of course, was whether she'd be able to keep it up.

Fortunately, however, the dragon had become distracted by that point. Katie could tell that, until then, it had just been picking on her because, from the air, she would have looked like the largest and most obvious target. However, the guards were already doing their duty, moving in on the dragon and firing their arrows in a volley at the airborne beast.

Unfortunately, many of the arrows failed to reach the flying monster, and those that did, didn't do much damage to it, although Katie could see that about three of its scales had been dislodged during the assault; enough for a brave warrior to do some damage to it, if only the beast would land. As for her, though, she was hardly a brave warrior of any sort, and immediately began looking for a good place to hide until the battle was over. Unfortunately, Irileth had been right, and the only good hiding spot was the tower, which would also leave her trapped if the guards lost their fight. Still, Katie couldn't see any other means of escape, and began heading towards the tower at full speed, just as the dragon turned to attack the guards.

After passing over the guards a few times, receiving a few more arrows along its scales, and firing more flames at the poor guards below, incinerating one and badly injuring another, the Dragon began to ascend higher and higher into the air, and it was only then, for the first time, that Katie heard the monster speak.

"Brit grah!" the dragon exclaimed in what sounded almost like pleasure, "Brit, bahlaan grah! What fine sport you mortals are!"

Then, in a flash, it was descending again, flames spouting from its mouth, and from the very air above, as it cast another spell on the battlefield. Soon, fire was raining from the very sky itself, and it was all that Katie could do to keep out of harm's way as she finally reached the tower, panting and out of breath. For some reason, she'd expected the tower to be empty, but there was someone else inside; a guard wearing the Whiterun insignia on his uniform, although she was horrified by the sight of him, because he was almost as thin as a broomstick, and his lips were cracked-looking. It was obvious that he'd been suffering from extreme hunger and thirst; afraid to leave the tower for quite some time before the guards had arrived.

"You... You can't be a guard of Whiterun." the man muttered weakly.

"Just a friend." Katie replied, shuddering at the sound of another explosion from outside, "The guards are here, but it's mainly a scouting mission for the moment. There are reinforcements on the way."

"Thank the... nine..." the man remarked weakly, "You should be safe... for now... if you stay here. You'll last longer than... I will."

However, just at that moment, Katie began to feel a horrible sensation of guilt creeping over her, and she wasn't even sure why. She was just a helpless target outside. She couldn't even touch the dragon as long as it was in the air, and she didn't even have a bow to shoot with; not that it would have helped if she had, since she'd always had a problem with getting bow-strings to do what she wanted them to, or indeed, with using any kind of weapon that required both of her hands to be pointed in roughly the same direction. Still, she didn't feel right, just cowering in there, without even knowing how the battle was going outside. Then she remembered the tower's open roof, and began to climb the stone steps along the inside wall of the tower, heading up to the roof.

"Wait!" the starving man exclaimed, "He'll see you... if you go up there!"

"Probably," Katie replied as she continued up, one step at a time, "but at least I'll be able to see him too."

Then, in a few more seconds, Katie had emerged from the top of the tower, and found herself on a flat, stone platform, overlooking the battlefield all around. She wasn't a faint-hearted girl, normally, but that sight was truly horrifying.

For dozens of yards in all directions, little fires continued to burn in the battlefield, and Katie could see at least two burned corpses; the remnants of Whiterun's guards. Those who remained standing had kept their hands on their bows, but they seemed to be realizing that they were fighting a losing battle. The dragon had been shrugging off most of their arrows, and attacking them with both its natural fire, and with the one thing that the people of Skyrim feared most; magic. The dragon was still in mid-air, still circling the tower as it moved to attack, again and again, and never once landing, or getting close enough to the ground for swords, spears or axes to do any good. It was a true nightmare for a nord warrior, and it was a nightmare for Katie, just looking at it.

She continued to stand on that roof for several seconds, watching the black-scaled fiend circle and attack, circle and attack, but if it noticed her, it gave no sign of it. At last, however, after watching the beast make its third pass over the helpless guards, continuing to shout in savage joy as it attacked, a desperate plan of a sort began forming in her mind. She could barely believe that she'd even thought of it, because it was likely to lead to her death, but she knew that she couldn't just stand there and do nothing. Quickly, she held up her spear, pointing its head at the ground in front of her, and holding the other end over one shoulder as she tried to gauge the distance, the speed at which the dragon was moving, and its overall flight path. She knew that she was only going to get one chance, but for some reason, the thought of just remaining there and doing nothing felt even worse.

For just over a minute, Katie waited there on the roof of the tower, watching the dragon's attack pattern carefully, until at last, she saw her chance and charged forward, jamming the spear into the stones at the edge of the roof, and vaulting herself into the air, right off the roof of the tower. For several seconds, she felt as though she were hanging in mid-air, with the high winds whipping all around her, but then, with a thud, she landed several dozen feet above the ground; on something very hard; something that was alive.

Just as she'd landed on the large, hard, living thing, however, Katie had felt the whole thing jerk downward underneath her, and saw the dragon's massive head rise up right in front of her. The beast was convulsing in mid-air as it struggled to rebalance itself to account for its new passenger, but it was no use. Slowly but surely, it was losing altitude, and turning around in mid-air as it plummeted towards the ground. For a moment, Katie was afraid that she was going to fall off the creature's back, and it was only by clinging to its wings for dear life, and pulling against them with all her might, that she was able to keep the dragon's flight path level and keep from being tossed off completely.

Finally, after struggling with the beast for almost thirty seconds, there was a tremendous lurch, and it was all that Katie could do to hold onto the monster as its body slid along the ground, digging a ditch in the earth as it went. At last, it skidded to a halt near the very edge of the farmsteads that surrounded the city of Whiterun, and it was only then that she felt safe letting go of its wings and swinging her spear around again, jabbing it in one of the creature's shoulderblades, which had been exposed by well-aimed arrows. However, that attack only made it flinch briefly, and soon, its legs were on the ground again, bracing themselves against it, and lifting its body back up out of the trench, forcing Katie to grab hold of its neck again, in order to stay on top of it. She squeezed the creature's neck as hard as she could, as it started flapping its wings again, in a desperate attempt to get back into the air, but by then, one of the guards had gotten close enough to attack its leg from behind with an axe, and the monster howled in pain, as it kicked out at the guard, missing him by a small margin.

However, before any more of the guards could reach it, the dragon took off again; more slowly, as it struggled with both its new passenger and with the crushing pain that was being applied to its throat. Still, Katie was hanging on for dear life, as the guards began firing at it again, and the monster couldn't reach her with its claws or teeth, considering where she was. It couldn't even take aim at her with its fire, but in just a moment, it seemed that the dragon had realized that there was still one way for it to destroy its passenger.

In a moment, the dragon had done a brief flip in the air, then plummeted back towards the ground in an upside down position, so that Katie soon found her feet within inches of the ground as the dragon skimmed the field's surface, forcing the guards to dive for cover in all directions. It seemed, at least, that the dragon didn't trust its magic to dislodge her without causing some form of injury to itself as well, so it was taking a risk, to try to get rid of her.

Katie managed to hang onto its neck, but her armored boots were being put through a horrible test of their strength, as the dragon scraped her feet along the ground, sending shocks of overwhelming pain all through her legs. Still, she refused to let go, and she could feel the dragon continuing to weaken as it pulled her towards a hill. That, however, turned out to be the final straw, and the moment she collided with the hill, her arms were wrenched free of the beast's neck, and she found herself tumbling across the ground with the extra momentum, until she finally skidded to a stop; injured, but still able to fight.

However, more importantly, the experience of trying to choke a dragon had emboldened Katie. She could see that the creature was incensed, and was turning in mid-air, ignoring all of the other guards as it faced her. In a flash, it was driving towards her, breathing fire, and she tried briefly to get out of the way, but it wasn't any use that time. She could feel the flames surrounding her, whipping across her skin with a heat so intense, that for several moments, she could barely even feel it. Then, in a second, the dragon's head had burst through the fire in her direction, and her armored hands had risen up to challenge it.

The dragon had struck Katie with the force of a train, but for the first time in eons, it had met its match in strength. Flapping its wings to keep aloft, the dragon pushed against its opponent, who, straining her charred muscles as best she could, was pushing back. It snapped at her sharply, cutting into her flesh, but that was just the kind of attack that she was most accustomed to taking, and in another moment, with all the strength left in her body, Katie had seized the dragons jaws from both above and underneath, clamping them shut with her hands. The beast's eyes blazed with fury at the power of its strange adversary, but being in mid-air, it seemed, came with its own problems, such as not being able to use its weight against its enemies, or to brace itself when attacking. As strong as the beast was; without some means of getting some traction, its usable strength was seriously limited; a weakness which soon became apparent, when Katie aimed its jaws downward, towards the ground, and loosened her grip.

The dragon hit the ground with a resounding crash, as guards from all across the battlefield moved in to attack with their swords and axes. Katie, for her part, had already dug her spear into one of its eyes before they even reached it, and in spite of her own injuries, was moving in for one more blow, having taken a minor scratch from the beast's claws, but nothing worse. However, one of the soldiers beat her to it, running up alongside the monster and jabbing it in the gut with a longsword.

For a moment, the beast was writhing in agony as it suffered under its many wounds, but just then, a powerful wind seemed to kick up all around the dragon, though it wasn't flapping its wings anymore. That was when Katie noticed that the eye, which she'd jabbed out just a moment before had somehow regenerated, and was completely healed. Worse yet, its scales seemed to be regenerating as well.

A hundred possibilities rushed through Katie's mind when she saw that. Could it be that dragons simply healed quickly? No, because it hadn't been healing at any point during the battle. Could it be a spell? No. Up to that point, the dragon had used its spells through some form of incantation, and it hadn't been reciting any spells recently. Could it be that it simply regenerated once it was injured badly enough? Was that it? In only a moment, that horrible fear was confirmed, as one of the guards spoke it aloud in horror.

"No! Divines, no! It's the dragonspark!"

Dragonspark. Katie had heard of it before; the special power that made it impossible for a dragon to truly die. Sometimes, they would seem to be dead; even for months, but any dragon imbued with the power of dragonspark made a mockery of death eventually, rising from the grave; not like an undead, but just as fully alive as they'd been before. If that dragon was imbued with the dragonspark, it was effectively immortal, and in that case, no weapon that any of them had could hurt it in any way. Katie's heart began to sink, even as she realized what that meant.

However, just then, as she tried to fight back the impulse to give in to despair, a thought occurred to her; a silly thought, perhaps, but it was the one thing that she hadn't tried. Quickly pulling one of the dragon's legs, Katie finally drew the black sword that she'd found in Bleak Falls Barrow; the weapon that had been surrounded by so many carvings of dragons and blades; the weapon that had nearly driven her insane until she'd touched it. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she drove it up to the hilt, into the still-exposed flesh of the enormous beast.

The moment that the blade went into the hide of the dragon, the beast shuddered violently, in a way that it hadn't over any of the blows that had been dealt to it up to that point. It began convulsing violently, and one of its legs caught Katie around her midsection, lifting her up into the air and spinning her over the dragon's head as it turned over; trying desperately to dislodge the sword. Katie had felt the dragon's grip on her loosening as it pulled her upward, and she knew that if it let go, she was going to fall over five yards, and probably suffer an injury, so for the sake of safely, ironically, she found herself clinging to the dragon's leg, still squeezing as hard as she could.

"No! No! No!" the dragon was shouting furiously as it spun around, its legs and wings swinging in all directions as a horrible discoloration spread out from the point where the sword had become lodged in the beast's flesh. It was a strange, gray color, as though the deep black color of the creature's scales was being tainted by something inside the blade. Further and further the discoloration spread, and wherever it spread to, the beast's injuries suddenly stopped healing.

* * *

Irileth had been watching the fight in amazement over the last couple of minutes, but suddenly, seeing that the dragon had become weak and vulnerable, and noticing that the reinforcements were less than seventeen yards away, she raised her sword, opened her mouth, and shouted to all of the guards who remained.

"The dragon is vulnerable! Attack! Attack!"

The sight of the Dragonspark in action had disheartened most of the men there, but with that shout from Irileth, hope came back into their hearts, and as one, they charged to the attack. Soon, powerful nords had reached the beast, and were hacking away at its gray areas; mainly its stomach and the insides of its legs. The creature roared in fear and agony, trying to flail its legs again, in the hopes of getting rid of the new attackers, but with Katie attached to one leg, it was far more difficult than it would have been otherwise. The guards were professionals, as well, and had a great deal of experience in combat. Even when one or two of them were swept aside, or knocked to the ground, they moved to assist each other and kept up the attack. Soon, all of the dragon's old wounds had been reopened, and not one of them was healing. At the very least, the breath seemed to have left its lungs, because it had been a while since it had done any shouting or spellcasting in that strange, dragon tongue it used.

At last, the creature lunged forward, trying to devour one of the nearby guards, but the guard jumped back just in time to avoid losing anything, and with one final roll on the ground, the monster finally collapsed; its whole body gray and colorless, and its wings coverings its legs. One final spurt of smoke emerged from its nostrils as it lay on the ground, but no more motion or flame came from the dragon after that. The fight had been long, and for a while, had seemed hopeless, but at last, the dragon was dead.

Irileth spent several minutes counting up the dead and having their remains collected for burial, then gathering all the living and counting them up silently, before she realized that there was one person who hadn't resurfaced. Katie of Hammerfell had gone missing during the battle.

For a moment, Irileth looked around, fully expecting to spot Katie's body in the grass somewhere, but then she looked towards the dragon, approaching its lifeless body slowly. She could still see the sword that was protruding from the dragon's side, and for a moment, reached for it without thinking, but just as Irileth's hand had been about to close around the jet black hilt of the sword, some warrior's instinct seemed to scream out in her mind.

"Don't touch it! Don't touch that thing, you fool!"

Irileth had always trusted her instinct as a warrior, and the sword did seem to have a rather unwholesome quality about it, when she looked at it again. Still, there was something about it that seemed right, as though it was deeply, horribly unpleasant, and yet, the very thing that she'd wanted all her life.

However, that was when Irileth remembered her real purpose there, and began looking around for any sign of the large, nord woman who'd done so much to help bring that beast down. Soon, regrettably, she found just such a sign.

A single leg; at least twice the width of her own, was protruding from underneath the dragon's rear leg; partially covered by one of its wings. There was a trickle of blood flowing over the leg, and as much as she hadn't wanted to admit it, Irileth knew that there was no one else who that leg could belong to. It was Katie; the woman who'd become a hero to all the people of Whiterun, in defiance of what anyone else would have expected of her. No one had done so much to find the weakness of the dragons, and certainly, no one had done so much to actually fight the beast. It filled the captain's heart with sadness, in spite of her many years of experience.

She turned quickly to face her troops, who'd all gotten into formation; both scouts and reinforcements, and she'd begun to walk slowly back in their direction, trying to think of something to say to them; how to explain to her men just what had happened there, when suddenly, she heard a noise from behind her; a grinding and scraping, like a tremendous millstone rubbing against smaller rocks.

In a flash, Irileth drew her sword and spun to face the dragon again, and sure enough, one of its legs was rising up, higher and higher into the air, jerking up and down as it rose. Everyone stared in awe as the leg rose to a foot over the ground, then two, then three, and that was when they saw something wonderful; something that none of them had ever expected to see again.

It was Katie. She'd braced one knee against the ground, and both arms against the leg of the dragon, which had fallen on top of her, and was holding it up with all her might. Then, with a thud, she managed to get her other knee to the ground, then shifted onto one foot with another pounding noise, then the other. At last, there she stood, with the leg of the defeated dragon raised over her head. She was covered in blood; probably her own, and there were scrapes all over her body, but she was still alive, still strong enough to survive, and her victory had been complete. At last, with one final push, Katie shoved the enormous dragon leg to one side, and began to stumble away from the beast, finally collapsing back onto the ground in a daze. However, not a single soldier had failed to appreciate the significance of that moment. They were all staring at Katie in awe.

"Hey!" Irileth exclaimed, jarring them back into the moment, "Do any of you have a healing potion?"

"I have a full replenishment potion..." One soldier offered, pulling the purple potion out of his pack and rushing forward with it, opening the bottle and spilling part of it over Katie's unconscious face.

"No, no!" Irileth exclaimed, "Give me that!"

She'd seized the bottle quickly, and attempted to prop up the nord woman's head, but discovered in horror, that in spite of her own exceptional strength, she needed both hands to do so. It was a little embarrassing, but Irileth looked back up at the soldier quickly, asking, "Want to give me a hand with this, Jesper?"

"Yes, Captain." the soldier replied, and in a moment, the two had managed to prop Katie up, and Irileth had begun to give her the potion.

Several seconds passed, in which no one was sure what would happen, but at last, Katie's many bruises began to vanish, and the blood that covered her seemed to be simply fading from existence. Not only that, but she'd looked somewhat squashed before that, and as she took more and more of the purple liquid, she'd begun to resume what was, for her, a normal shape. At last, with both eyes open, and the bottle in her own hands, she finished the potion and sat up on her own, looking around at the soldiers, who were gathered all around her by that point. She started shaking her head a little, apparently clearing the cobwebs, and then she turned to see the gray, lifeless dragon, with her sword still protruding from its side, and it all seemed to come back to her.

"It's actually dead?" Katie asked, looking amazed as she scrambled to her feet.

"Yes." Irileth replied, "If you want, you can take your sword back. I don't think it's going to come back to life."

So, in a few more seconds, Katie had reached the sword again. For some reason, she also hesitated before taking it, just as Irileth had, but she did retrieve it eventually, and put it back in its sheath, and as predicted, the dragon's body remained as dead and colorless as before. That was when some murmuring began among the guards gathered there, and Irileth could hear most of it well, thanks to her sharp ears.

"Yeah, but what else could she be? I mean, she obviously killed the dragon, and in the legends, only one kind of person could do that."

"Yes, but the dragon's power didn't go into her. She's got to be something else."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked curiously, but somewhat innocently as she turned to face the guards. It was a few seconds before they would reply, but at last, one dared to speak up.

"We were discussing whether you might be a dragonborn, miss; the chosen ones of Akatosh, who are gifted with the power to conquer and rule dragons."

For a moment, Katie's eyes opened wide. She could barely believe what was being suggested, but at last, she replied.

"No. I don't think so. I mean, I guess I'm not sure who my real parents were, but I don't think my mother was a dragon."

Most of the guards were starting to look a little confused, but at last, one of them said "There's one way to know for sure, miss. Would you shout, please?"

"Shout?"

"Yes. If you're dragonborn, then your shout should have the power of the Dragon's Voice, and something strange should happen."

Katie seemed to think that the whole idea was silly, but nevertheless, she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and screamed.

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuHHHHH!" Katie shouted as loud as she could, and most of the guards covered their ears, but at last, the echoing noise faded, and really, it hadn't been any different from the shout of any other normal person. A bit louder, perhaps, and perhaps a tad deeper, but even the most superstitious in that group seemed to have realized the truth. Katie wasn't a dragonborn, but she'd slain a dragon nonetheless.

Just then, Irileth turned her head again, her ears picking up the sound of feet, busily and rapidly approaching them. In a moment, someone had come running over the hill, and Irileth had to admit that the man's sudden appearance was a surprise. He was an imperial who looked intensely worried. He had brown hair, a slim build, and was wearing light armor and carrying a broadsword and an iron shield. His thin, leather belt had several potions of various colors strung along it, and the poor fellow was unshaven, though he seemed to be in good health, and was clearly getting enough exercise.

For a moment, the imperial and Katie looked at each other, and there was a look of confusion on the imperial's face as he glanced at the nord woman, then at the dead dragon, then back at her again. Katie looked even more confused, as though she were trying to remember something important, and couldn't quite manage it. Still, when the healthy-looking man rushed up to the dragon and placed one hand on its gray, colorless hide, even Irileth began to get worried. For some reason, she found herself liking the newcomer in spite of herself, and his clear sadness was effecting her, though she couldn't explain why.

However, for Irileth, there were other things to worry about, and she couldn't shake the feeling that the event she'd just witnessed was terribly wrong somehow, as though something had been done on that battlefield that never should have happened.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. You can't pole-vault in Skyrim.

2. You can't spin yourself around a spear to put some distance between yourself and the enemy, for the simple reason that there are no spears in Skyrim.

3. No starving or injured person is inside the tower, nor is there any real advantage to going inside, except to escape the fire spells that the dragon throws at you for a minute.

4. You can neither pole vault onto the back of the dragon, nor can you jump onto its back from the top of the tower, which genuinely shocked me when I first played. I was sure that was why they'd put a tower so nearby.

5. All of the mechanics here about holding onto the dragon's wings to keep it level during a crash, clinging to its neck to remain on the dragon during flight, and being scraped along the ground by a displeased dragon have no place in Skyrim. None of this is possible in the game itself, regardless of how much sense it would make, or how cool it would be.

6. The type of black sword that Katie uses is not in Skyrim, and therefore doesn't do what it does here.

7. When you kill a dragon, you suddenly gain the ability to pass right through it like a phantom in Skyrim. It certainly can't cover you or crush you, as it almost does to Katie.

8. This is a minor reference to another game, but purple potions in Skyrim don't fully replenish you.

9. Who is this strange, unshaven warrior who appeared at the very end of the battle with the dragon? Whoever he is, he doesn't appear in Skyrim. Or does he?


	10. Chapter 10: Lydia

Chapter 10: Lydia

* * *

Katie was still feeling a little weak in the knees by the time she got back to Whiterun, although by that point, the guards were surrounding her, as though they considered it their personal duty to protect her. She'd fought in battle alongside them, of course, and that had to account for something, but she still wasn't sure just what they were making such a fuss about.

At last, Katie was disappointed to find that the guards were leading her back to the Jarl's house, though she didn't resist. After what had just happened, she suspected that the Jarl would be very eager to see her.

As the large, wooden doors swung open, and she stepped inside, preceded and followed by several members of the Whiterun guards, she noticed that a very deep silence had fallen on the Jarl's court, and when she was led up the steps, past the firepit, and towards the throne, she was a little surprised to find that very few people were there. There was the Jarl himself, of course, and his Steward, who always seemed to be standing by his side. Farengar, unfortunately, was also standing off to one side, looking a little suspicious, and there was one guard, but no one else, apart from Katie and the compliment of guards who'd escorted her in.

At first, she thought that the Jarl might start asking questions, but as it turned out, there wasn't any need for him to do so. One of the guards begam to report what had happened, and it didn't take him long to get to the death of the dragon, and the role that Katie had played in it. The Jarl looked confused, for a moment, then a bit scornful.

"She's proven to be quite skilled." The Jarl admitted after a moment, "More than should be expected, but no one person can slay a dragon except the dragonborn."

"We all assisted as best we could, sir." One of the guards replied, "Yet, the fight was largely hers."

The Jarl still looked doubtful, but he turned to face Katie a moment later, with a suspicious, searching gaze. Then he spoke to her directly again.

"My men say that the dragon is dead, and that you had something to do with it. I trust them, of course, but I would prefer to hear it from you. Is that account correct?"

"Yes. It is, Jarl."

The Jarl still didn't look fully convinced, but at last, he sighed, and leaned back in his throne.

"If that's true; if you had some strong hand in what happened, then your service to my city has been, perhaps, the greatest of anyone in this age. You've done a great deed, and you merit a great reward."

Soon, the Jarl had seized something from the small table next to his throne, and gotten to his feet, stepping towards Katie slowly. The moment that he began to do this, every last guard descended onto one knee, and taking it as a cue, Katie quickly did the same. At last, the Jarl stood over her, and with a swift motion of his right hand, he drew a small axe from his belt. Then, using only his left hand, he slowly placed something on her head. It was thin, hard and smooth; clearly made of metal.

"Rise, Thane Katie of Whiterun." the Jarl said, holding out the axe for her to take, "Take the blade of Whiterun, and accept the ladyship, and the honor with which it comes."

Katie was simply stunned for several moments, as she got to her feet, and the axe was pushed into her hands. She didn't even know what to say at first. However, as the Jarl turned to go back to his throne, she finally spoke up, feeling absolutely flabbergasted.

"W-wait a minute!"

"What?" The Jarl asked, turning to face her with a curious expression, "What's wrong?"

"That's not what I want at all!" Katie exclaimed, almost blushing as she uttered those words, although the soldiers that surrounded her were starting to back away from her just a little, as though worried that something horrible might erupt between those two mighty figures.

"Take it anyway" the Jarl replied casually, "as a sign of respect for me. One should never refuse a gift, when it's given freely. It dishonors the giver."

"First off..." Katie said, suddenly feeling her courage beginning to grow inside of her again, "I have no intention of dishonoring you, or of refusing any gifts that you have to offer, Jarl Balgruuf, but there's something else that I want much more."

"Name it." the Jarl said, once he'd taken his seat back on his throne again.

For a moment, Katie's mouth just opened and closed several times. It seemed that the Jarl had completely forgotten about the requests she'd made on behalf of her parents when she'd first arrived, and it made her feel a little upset to be forgotten about so easily, but that, it seemed, was what had happened. Still, in a moment, the situation was corrected. She repeated her request for the Jarl, and he seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds. At last, however, when he spoke, he had a grave expression on his face.

"These are dangerous times, my thane. We have not only the dragons, but a civil war to worry about, and the country is divided because of it. Allowing a compliment of guards to leave Whiterun in times such as these means weakening our defenses from attacks of all types. If you really asked me about this before, I must have explained this to you."

"Yes, sir. You did," Katie replied, "but right now, I'm more worried about my family. They don't even have a secure place to live, and their town has been decimated already, while Whiterun remains standing."

At that point, the Jarl's expression changed to a disappointed and sad one, but at last, he snapped his fingers and his steward stepped forward, stooping over to listen to his leige.

"See to it." Jarl Balgruuf said, causing the steward to give him a nod in reply, and scribble something onto a piece of parchment that he had in one hand, along with a small slab of wood, on which the parchment was resting. Katie was amazed that the whole thing had been that simple, although obviously, it would have serious repercussions; especially for the soldiers who would need to climb mountains for a few days just to get there, and another few to get back. Still, it was the reason she'd come to Skyrim in the first place, and she was still convinced that she'd done the right thing.

The very thought that her parents would finally be getting the help they'd asked for made Katie feel very relieved, so her next words to the Jarl were less desperate and frantic than before.

"Sir, there's something else. I'm not sure what it means to be a thane, exactly."

At that point, however, the Jarl smiled broadly and leaned back in his chair as he explained.

"The thane is the first in a lineage of lords or ladies. Even if the thane has no children, however, he can still be a thane by himself. To be a thane of this city is to be a figure in the court of Whiterun, and this comes with many honors and priveleges. You may, for example, consider yourself invited to all gatherings of the court. You have the right to buy and own land within the city itself, if you should happen to have enough gold. You can be empowered to act as an emissary in certain affairs; a very lucrative position, and perhaps most valuable of all, if anything should ever trouble you in my city or the surrounding lands, you can request a hearing with me, at any time, day or night, and I'll hear you out. Just try not to abuse that last privilege. My time is valuable, you know."

"It all sounds like a lot of extra work." Katie objected, but the Jarl just waved the objection off.

"We have lords and ladies in this city who haven't shown their faces in court for decades." he said, "You may be known a bit more around town, but as for the advantages of access to my court, you can, of course, make use of them, or ignore them as you see fit. That's entirely up to you. There's power in my court, if you know the right people, but then, I suppose a dragonslayer would scoff somewhat at that kind of power, wouldn't she?"

"No, sir." Katie replied, having calmed down considerably, and once again putting effort into being polite, "It's just that I've never had any ambitious to be famous, rich, or powerful. I'm afraid I'd just find it troublesome."

"Then you'll be pleased to hear that you can be a thane of Whiterun, and still be reclusive, poor and unconnected, if that's what you want." the Jarl responded with a laugh, "Frankly, I think the slaying of the dragon will be more likely to draw unwelcome fame than the position you now occupy."

"Then, thank you." Katie said at last, backing away from the throne a few steps, but it wasn't long before the Jarl spoke to her again.

"There are two more things, for the moment." he said, "The first is that, of course, one mustn't leave one's thane unguarded, even if she -is- a dragonslayer, so I'm assigning Lydia; one of my best warriors, to be your Housecarl. She will follow your orders without question, unless, of course, you decide to turn on me."

At first, Katie felt like objecting to that remark, but the Jarl burst out laughing a moment later, seeming to indicate that he'd meant it to be a joke. Still, she thought, it was in very poor taste. She couldn't help but wonder what she was going to do with an obedient warrior. Maybe order her to stay put, and then get on with her life.

"Finally," the Jarl continued, "I think there's one important point, which deserves further reflection. The dragon that was in these parts is dead now, and if you ask me, that's good cause for a celebration."

Then, turning to his steward again, the Jarl said "The center of town; food, drink and music for all comers. Open last season's silo if you have to. I want this to be a celebration to be remembered."

Once again, the steward was nodding, and it was the first announcement that Katie had heard all evening that actually made her feel glad. She could do without authority, power and command over others, but food, drink and good times were things that everyone needed.

* * *

Katie hadn't been disappointed by the celebration in the least. Farengar had demonstrated some of his skill, by conjuring up many enchanted lights, and placing them all around the center of town, and several musicians of various types were playing their hearts out. People were singing, and apparently, writing new songs all across town. Katie had even caught snippets of one that mentioned her by name, though its description of her was most inaccurate, and, she thought, rather unpleasant, though perhaps another kind of person might have thought differently.

She herself had greeted a few people, gotten some attention and started on the food and mead. When she was finished, she felt absolutely stuffed, but happier than she'd been since her last day in the Slow Sabrecat; probably because so many of the people around her were happy as well.

As the meal slowed down, however, and Katie began to push herself away from the table, she heard a familiar voice from very nearby.

"So you're a thane now? Wonderful! Couldn't have happened to a nicer lady."

That remark bothered Katie for some reason, but she didn't let it show as she turned to look at the man who'd just made it; Lord Olfrid Battle-Born.

"Thank you." Katie replied to him, not sure what else to say.

"I suppose you still have no land, however." Olfrid observed.

"Not yet," Katie admitted, "Perhaps someday."

"Of course." the broad-shouldered man said a bit boisterously, "I can tell you're the type who won't be happy until you've got a bit of land of your own. If you like, I might be able to get you a small place cheap."

"That's alright." Katie replied with a smile, "I doubt I even have enough for that yet."

"No trouble. No trouble at all." Olfrid said with a wink, "You've been making money, I'm sure. For a modest rate, I could let you have the land early, and you could pay me back for the extra time and effort when you're ready. How does that sound?"

However, after taking a moment to think it over, Katie remarked "With all respect, Lord Battle-Born, I don't think I should. My mother always told me never to get in debt to anyone if I can help it. I trust you, of course, but I feel I should honor her wishes. I may take you up on your offer, though, when I have enough money to make a clean purchase."

Olfrid showed no visible sign of being disappointed by that remark, merely laughing briefly and remarking that she was welcome to make him an offer when she wished, but Katie could tell that he was gravely disappointed nonetheless. As friendly as Olfrid acted most of the time, it was pretty obvious that the man was an opportunist, always looking for some means of gaining greater power over those around him. He was precisely the sort of man who Katie had always been warned to stay away from.

It didn't take Olfrid long to move on, and strike up a conversation with someone else, which gave Katie yet another reason to feel relieved, so in a moment, she'd grabbed another mug of mead from the table and was starting to drink it slowly. That, however, was when she heard a completely unfamiliar voice, addressing her from behind.

"My thane?"

Quickly, Katie turned around and found herself looking into the face of a pretty, young woman, though she might have been prettier if her dark hair hadn't been such a wreck, or her armor so dirty-looking. Worse yet, her upper arms had no visible armor at all, as though she simply hadn't been able to afford a proper defense from attacks.

"I guess." Katie replied with a shrug, "Are you Lydia?"

"I am." Lydia replied with a nod, though she remained standing where she was, "I've been instructed to follow you and obey your orders."

"Yeah..." Katie replied, feeling like she was being put on the spot against her will, "About that... I know it was a lot of trouble to fight the dragon, and I know people are probably pretty impressed, but I only did it to save my folks. I really don't think I'm going to need any backup from a warrior from now on."

"Are you saying that you want me to stay here in town, my thane?" Lydia asked a bit coldly, apparently disliking Katie for the moment.

"Well, you can stay where you want, and do what you want, within reason..." Katie replied with a shrug, "I just don't think I'll have need of your services. That's all I meant to say."

"I'm truly sorry, my thane." Lydia replied, however, with a firm shake of her head, "If you instruct me to wander alone into a haunted barrow, I will. If you tell me to stay at this very spot until you return, I will. If you tell me to live a peaceful life, alone, here in Whiterun, I'll even do that. However, in any case, I'll just be waiting for further orders from you. The jarl has instructed me to obey your orders, and that's what I'm going to do. Only the jarl can reassign me to another task."

Katie felt mainly disappointed but that reply, but something about it also made her feel a little encouraged.

"In other words," Katie said, "Just because you're a warrior doesn't mean that I need to take you into a war."

"No, my thane," Lydia replied, still without even the hint of a smile, "though there -is- a war right now, if you wish to."

Katie actually started smiling at that point, although Lydia still didn't smile. It was a bit annoying, considering that everyone else was celebrating and having fun, but then again, she thought, the housecarl had to do what she said, which gave her a few ideas.

"Okay." Katie replied with a shrug, turning back to the table, "In that case, have a seat, and start smiling. A grim face just doesn't look right at a big celebration like this one."

Lydia obeyed the order, just as she'd said she would, but her smile still didn't look right, as if she wasn't used to it.

"You're upset about something." Katie observed, hoping to actually cheer Lydia up a bit, "Did you lose any family members to the dragon?"

"No." Lydia replied, "Not family in the strictest sense, but I knew two of the men who died. They were good warriors. Still, the real tragedy is that it was not their victory."

Katie had to pause for a few moments to digest that remark, but it didn't take her long to realize what it had been meant to imply.

"You don't like me, do you?" Katie asked in some disappointment.

"No, my thane. However, perhaps, in time..."

"Why not? Just because I helped fight the dragon? Be totally honest."

"No, my thane. It's because you've made a mockery of our armed forces; shown that you alone can do something that all of us combined could not. Were you another kind of person, that would have made you a hero, or even a champion of our people, but you aren't even a soldier. You don't follow orders, and you have no discipline. Also, to be frank, I think you cut a most unflattering figure for a dragonslayer, my thane."

"Just call me Katie from now on." she replied, however, taking in the somewhat brutal assessment of herself as calmly as she could, "As for all of that, I didn't mean to mock anyone, I was just trying to help you out, and I was a little curious about the dragon. I can't really help the kind of person I am, and as for following orders, you're right that I'm not a soldier and I have no intention of becoming one, but that's because I don't like fighting. Too much rushing and swinging and getting stabbed. I've done it before, but to tell you the truth, I'd rather do as little fighting as possible. Also, unflattering or not, I've always rather liked my figure."

"Being a soldier isn't about fighting." Lydia replied with a shake of her head, "It's about following orders loyally and completeing the task well. In my view, my th... Katie, you could stand some practice at that."

However, Katie had stopped feeling insulted by that point, and was satisfied, for the moment, with the perturbed look on the face of her new housecarl, so she was still smiling a moment later, when she asked "What did you have in mind?"

"If the war isn't to your liking, you might take some independant work with the companions. They're a guild of warriors, but many of their tasks don't involve fighting at all. If you're more of a mage, as I've heard some say, you might journey to the far northeast, and locate the College of Winterhold. That's where the rare Skyrim mages tend to gather and trade secrets, I hear. Either way, you'd be doing some jobs, earning a bit of money, and learning about loyalty and how to follow orders. It's all up to you, of course, but I recommend it."

Katie nodded silently as she thought the matter over in her head. Finally, she spoke again, feeling a little better, for some reason.

"I may want to go back home and visit my parents at some point, but I feel better now that I know they'll be getting some help, and I have to admit, I prefer the air here in Skyrim. Maybe I'll start living here. Of course, what I really want to do is set up a little shop, or a bar, or an inn of some kind, and just tend the place in peace for the rest of my life."

"In that case, Katie, you'll need to get out of Skyrim, and go far away."

For a moment, she wasn't sure that she'd heard that right, and turned to look at Lydia again, feeling utterly perplexed. However, the young warrior continued to speak just a moment later.

"Don't forget what happened today, Katie." Lydia said grimly, "You challenged a dragon to a fight and won, killing it utterly. Are you certain that was the only dragon of its type?"

That question sent a chill down Katie's spine the moment that she began to think it over. Lydia was more right than she knew. Katie was entirely certain that the dragon she'd fought was -not- the only one of its type. She'd seen at least one other; the one that had attacked Helgen, and it had been even larger and more ferocious-looking. Worse yet, the dragons were intelligent. At the very least, the last one had been. Hauntingly, its screams of anger and despair came back to her, as she remembered the moment of its death, and just how like a very large human its booming voice had sounded. It had been intelligent, clever, malicious, and possibly related to an even larger dragon.

"Oh, shoot." Katie muttered, rubbing her eyes a little as she realized what Lydia was talking about.

"The other dragons will know what you've done, assuming that there are more than one." Lydia explained, although the words were hardly needed by that point, "If they don't know already, they'll know soon, and begin their hunt. Any place that you've chosen to live will be a dangerous place for all those around you, unless every last dragon is hunted down and slain. Getting assistance from the other cities and towns of Skyrim will be difficult as well. Few will believe that the dragons have returned unless they've already suffered an attack, and by then it may be too late for them to be of any use. As for Whiterun, even if we can fend off another attack by a dragon, or even two, or three, or half a dozen, we can only hold out for so long by ourselves."

"You really think there are that many?" Katie asked in horror, feeling a lump form in her throat at the thought of a half dozen dragons all attacking at once.

"The legends speak of dozens and dozens of dragons, who once ruled this land, dominating the less powerful races." Lydia explained, still wearing the same fake-looking smile as before, "We once thought they were all gone for good, aside from the dragon blood in the veins of the heirs of Tiber Septim. However, some have now returned; who can say how many?"

Katie looked away from Lydia again at that point, feeling suddenly alone and helpless. She didn't want to fight anymore, and she was -certainly- far from confident in her ability to slay any more dragons. It was a horrifying, merciless fate, which seemed to have caught her by the shoulders. A few moments before, she'd felt as though her whole life was before her, and she could finally begin living it the way that she wanted to, but suddenly, that destiny had been pried from her grip, and her life was being forcibly redirected into a new path; the very path that she least wanted to take.

"You could try to live here in peace, if you wish," Lydia said at last, "but you'll only be endangering these people. If you're like myself, and you care about their wellbeing, and want to protect them..."

"But don't you see?!" Katie gasped, feeling utterly desperate as she turned to face her housecarl again, "You were right about me! You were -absolutely- right! I'm not a soldier, or a warrior, or a fighter!"

"I think there's a dead dragon outside of town that might disagree with you on that."

For a moment, Katie jumped in alarm. The voice that had spoken that last sentence was new, and had taken her completely by surprise. Quickly, she spun around to face the owner of the voice, and there, right across from her at the table, sat the man in the black robe, still with the same thin, black beard, and the same pitch-black eyes, and still smiling as though he were a child who'd just recovered some lost toy that he cared a great deal about.

"What?" Katie asked, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the new arrival, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, and offer you my services again." the man in the robe explained calmly, and still with a smile on his face, "It's fairly obvious that you can use all the help you can get right now, and I could offer you some training, if you'll accept it."

"I -don't- want to fight." Katie insisted quickly, but the man's gaze never faltered.

"Do you want to lose? To die?" he asked flatly, "Is that what you want?"

"Hold your tongue, citizen." Lydia said to the man in the robe, "This is the thane of Whiterun."

"I know who she is; maybe better than you do," the man in the robe replied, "and although I respect you as a warrior, I warn you not to interrupt our discussion again."

"My job is to obey and protect..." Lydia began, but it was then that the black-robed man turned his gaze on her. To Katie, he looked no different; just the same calm, dark eyes and calm, pleased expression, but somehow; perhaps through some form of magic, he'd done something to Lydia. She'd simply paused in place, with her mouth open in mid-speech, and a look of horror in her eyes, and Katie wasn't sure what to do for the next few seconds. However, she quickly got to her feet, looking Lydia in the face, and trying her best to provoke a reaction.

"Lydia! Are you alright? Lydia!" Katie exclaimed in horror, but although Lydia's gaze darted briefly in her direction, no other part of her moved.

"She's fine." the black-robed man remarked from the other side of the table, "Now, answer my question, please. Do you want my help? I can't protect you from dragons, but I can teach you how to fight with any kind of weapon, how to wear and use armor in battle, how to attack from just the right angle, to deal heavy damage to your enemies, and how to use your great strength to your advantage. It's training that you'll need, if you hope to survive the ordeal that you're about to experience. Yes or no."

Katie shivered a little as she glanced at Lydia, then at the robed man, then back at Lydia again, but at last, she turned back to the man in the robes, and asked him a single, nervous question.

"If I say yes, will you promise not to harm any of my friends?"

"No." the black-robed man replied, though he was still smiling calmly, "No promises. You either want my help, or you don't."

Katie felt even more like shivering, the longer that she staying in that position, looking at that strange man, but finally, she said "I don't want your kind of help at all... but it's not about what I want, is it? If I want to live, I need you to help me."

"That's how I'd size the situation up; yes." the black-robed man replied, and after watching Katie for a few more moments, he got to his feet.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Katie asked a bit indignantly, but the to her surprise, the man actually replied to her question.

"Of course you do." the man said sternly, "On the battlefield, soldiers are constantly faced with choices between life and death, but they still make those choices, and when they choose life, they make their choices right. Just because your decision will have consequences doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

That was it. Katie did have a life-and-death choice in front of her, and it wasn't the kind of choice that it took her a long time to make, although it still bothered her a lot.

"Alright." she said, sparing Lydia one more glance as she made her decision, "I accept. What do I need to do first?"

"My advice is to do what your housecarl suggested. Spend some time with the Companions, and with the College of Winterhold. They'll teach you a little about conflict and war, and maybe help prepare you for the next thing you have to face, whatever it might happen to be. In the meantime, I feel I should warn you; that black sword..."

For just a moment, Katie's eyes darted to the blade that she'd found in Bleak Falls Barrow, and it was just as large and shiny as it had been then. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, it almost looked a little bigger.

"Be careful with it," the man in the robes replied, "and above all, don't lose it, or let anyone take it from you. You might need it. Also, don't worry too much about my training just yet. When you're ready, I'll find you."

Then, the man got up and headed away from the table, but just then, something else occurred to Katie, and she exclaimed "Wait a minute! You never told me your name!"

"Call me Eron, for now, if you have to call me at all." the man said, before vanishing completely into the shadows. At the very moment that he disappeared, Lydia gasped and nearly collapsed forward onto the table, resting both arms on it in apparent exhaustion. Katie was just glad, at first, to see that she could move again, but the mortified expression was so strong on her face, that after only a few moments, Katie grabbed her by one shoulder, to try to steady her.

"Are you okay, Lydia?"

Lydia, however, just cursed softly, looking very aggrivated, and she was sweating, as though she'd just gotten over some horrible fright. It took her several seconds to calm down, but when she finally, did, and turned to face her thane again, she still looked horrified.

"Katie..." Lydia remarked ruefully, "I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened."

"You don't look confused to me." Katie observed, however, "You look scared."

Lydia looked away for just a moment, then closed her eyes completely, but after a few more seconds, it seemed that she was ready to explain herself.

"I've been in several battles, Katie." Lydia began, "I've been injured, recovered from injuries, seen friends and allies die, and even come close to death myself. I know what it feels like when you're right on the edge of a danger that might cost you your life, and just now, when I was scolding that man, I... I got that same feeling, like I was standing on the edge of a battlefield, waiting for the enemy to start firing their arrows. I felt like... I felt like I was about to die, and I asked myself 'for what?' Just because he wasn't being respectful enough? I... I felt like I'd be taking a chance if I even moved, or said another word. It was... It wasn't like anything I've ever felt before. I'm sorry."

Katie was certainly surprised to hear that, but she hadn't changed her mind. She still needed the help of that man, or someone like him, and she was still planning on checking out the Companions. Still, it got her wondering about just what kind of a person Eron was, that he could so easily strike terror into the heart of a trained veteran.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. Becoming thane of Whiterun doesn't involve a military escort or the receiving of a circlet. The Jarl doesn't even rise in respect.

2. The Jarl doesn't hold a celebration over the death of the dragon in Skyrim. In fact, no one reacts to any of your accomplishments significantly at all.

3. Olfrid doesn't speak to you after you become Thane in Skyrim.

4. Lydia has -a ton- less personality in Skyrim than here.

5. Eron is a completely original character. He has no place in Skyrim.


	11. Chapter 11: Tralan the Redguard

Chapter 11: Tralan the Redguard

* * *

Katie had spent the night in the Bannered Mare again, though it seemed that Lydia had her own accomidations. She hadn't approached the companions yet, and really, she'd been hesitant to try. Every desire that Katie had ever had seemed to pull her in completely the opposite direction, and it was making her a little sluggish when it came to getting things like that accomplished. Still, she knew that she had to, and would probably need some actual training before all was said and done. She'd tried to avoid even thinking about it the night before; afraid that it would spoil the celebration, but the feasting, the music and the singing was all over by the time the sun rose the next morning, and she no longer had any excuse. She had to spend some time in thought.

That may have been the reason why, for the first few minutes that morning, once she'd finished dressing in her skirt, shirt and jacket, Katie wandered around Whiterun a bit aimlessly, with no clear plan for where to go next. Her real intention had just been to think the companions thing over, and see if she could come up with some sort of gradual way of approaching it. However, the third time she passed the front gate of Whiterun that morning, she heard the sounds of three men arguing, and it jolted her out of her thoughts for a moment.

Quickly, Katie turned to look towards the sound of the commotion, and there, she saw two people dressed in a sort of garb that she'd seen many times in the past, but still found somewhat strange; the baggy pants, tough, strapped boots, leather armor to cover their torsos, and oddest of all; turbans and scimitars, rather than the spears and shields that Katie was used to seeing. The outfits alone would have told her what kind of people she was dealing with; they were people of the southern parts of Hammerfell, which had fought most mercilessly and fallen most horribly during the war. Both, of course, were redguards, and each had the bearing of a strong and well-trained warrior. If Katie had needed to guess, she would have supposed that they would have easily been a match for the third man, despite the fact that he; one of the nord guards of Whiterun, was taller and broader than them. Of course, if they -had- tried to attack him, they would have just drawn down about a dozen more guards, and that would have been hopeless. They seemed to have realized that as well, since in spite of the heat of the argument, neither of them had drawn their scimitars.

"I told you that you're not welcome!" the guard shouted angrily, "Leave, or I'll call the others!"

"We're not here to cause any trouble," insisted one redguard with a beard, "but we need to look for her! If you're going to get in the way..."

"You should both be in prison after what happened," the guard roared furiously, "and you're lucky I don't just throw you in there myself! Leave now, or you'll get what's coming to you!"

The two redguards seemed to realize that they weren't gaining anything by persisting in the argument by that point, and after a few moments, both turned to head towards the town gates, though the one with the beard remarked, as he walked, "This isn't over, nord. We'll be back."

However, just as the bearded redguard was turning back towards the gate, he caught sight of Katie, and for a moment, seemed unable to believe his eyes. It was a reaction she got a lot. However, not all people who looked at her like that began to smile in recognition and delight afterwards.

"You there! You're Jeleen's girl, aren't you?" the redguard asked in surprise, "I've seen you three times in my visits to Karohad."

After a few moments, Katie decided to step a little closer to the two redguards and at least talk to them, if only because one of them had recognized her.

"You knew my father?" Katie asked, feeling curious, but still a little warey around the redguard warriors.

"Yes. By name and reputation." the redguard replied, his anger seemingly forgotten, "He knows me the same way, though I won't claim that we're especially close. He's a fine smith, and about ten percent of the soldiers in our armies can trace at least one weapon or piece of armor back to his forge. I'm probably the only one in a thousand, though, who's actually been to his village for a job or two."

That was when Katie snapped her fingers in recognition. She'd been studying the man's face; trying to recognize him, and at last, she'd remembered seeing him once.

"Five years ago or thereabouts, in the early evening in summer at the Slow Sabrecat. You were with a group of your military buddies."

"That's right, though I'm surprised you remember." the reguard noted, "There must have been half a dozen of us there. I remember you, though. You were sort of serving tables at the time, if I recall correctly. I still remember the way you moved around the perimeter of the room with that tray. It was a more interesting kind of tavern, just for having you there. I started asking about you, and one of the ladies said you were the Jeleen's daughter, so I asked him about you later. I have to say, you're a bit... different now."

"You too." Katie replied, ignoring the half-finished personal remarks, "I don't know if you ever found out my name, though. Katie. Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Gancolm." the redguard replied, then gesturing to his companion, he continued, "This is Kinther."

"So what's the problem here?" Katie asked at last, still feeling a little confused as she neared the gates, following the redguards, who were headed out of the village.

"These guards just won't listen to reason. That's the problem." Gancolm replied a little bitterly, "This whole mission has just gotten worse and worse. The journey here wasn't a simple one, but having to fight a whole city isn't part of the plan, or we'd need a real army."

"What?" Katie asked, feeling alarmed, "Fight a whole city? What kind of talk is that?"

"Look, we were sent here to find a woman; a redguard woman with a scar on her left leg. If the guards won't even let us search the town..."

"No, that's not what I mean." Katie interrupted him, "I'm sure you've got a mission that's very important to you, but the guard said something had happened, and that both of you should be in jail. What did he mean? I'm not getting the whole story."

At that point, however, Gancolm sighed a bit, and rubbed his neck, aparently sorry about what he had to say next, but in just a few more moments, he said his piece anyway.

"Even if I wanted to tell you the whole story, Katie, I wouldn't be allowed to without permission from my commanding officer. Still, if all you want is to find out what happened here in town, I guess there's no harm in that."

Katie nodded briefly, listening to the redguard warrior as he told his rather short story.

"The truth is, three of us were sent into this town to find the woman I mentioned. We found a redguard woman who seemed to conform to her description, and our other partner; Tralan, took her by the wrist. Then we saw her left leg, and that was when we realized that she didn't have the scar. She wasn't the one we were looking for."

"Well, we let the woman go and apologized, but it didn't matter. She'd apparently lost some ring of hers while she'd been struggling with Tralan, and she called for the guards, and accused us of being brigands and thieves. Tralan was arrested and I believe he's still being held in the Whiterun dungeons, awaiting a hearing by some court official or other. As for us, we'd never touched her, so the guards didn't have any excuse for arresting us. They still tried to, at first, but after we spent a few minutes explaining the situation, they gave it up and just told us to leave town before we caused ever more trouble."

"Of course, we figured that it might give our target the chance to evade us, but we left the city for about a day, in the hopes that the guards might calm down a little, and give us permission to perform some sort of formal search of Whiterun, but they obviously don't forget things that easily. If we can't even get into the city, we can't find the woman. Worse yet, I can't imagine it going well for Tralan at the hearing. Nords and redguards don't always get along. With the empire still in control, we could have trusted them to provide an intermediary of some kind between our peoples, but as things are, I can't picture that happening. The empire hasn't done much since the end of the war that didn't in some way benefit the thalmor. They're not even concerned with keeping the peace anymore."

"Anyway," Gancolm said at last, looking depressed again, "that's about how things stand with us. We need to find some way to get Tralan out of the dungeons, but I can't see any way to do that. We need to find that woman with the scar, but right now, with the guards being so... so stubborn, I can't think of a way to do that either. I don't suppose you've got any really good ideas for ways to solve these kinds of problems..."

The whole thing was already starting to make Katie feel a little uncomfortable, but finally, after thinking the matter over, she made her suggestion.

"I don't see how I could help you with your search, but if you want, I could talk to the Jarl about giving your friend a fair hearing and being careful with the investigation."

"Talk to the Jarl?" Gancolm asked in amazement, "But why would he listen to you?"

It was only just then that Katie remembered that she'd left her circlet back in the Bannered Mare, along with most of her other possessions, and Lydia, who was guarding them. Of course, without the circlet, those redguards wouldn't have realized...

"It's because I've been appointed the Thane of Whiterun." Katie said, finally smiling a bit as the words came out of her mouth, "The Jarl says he'll listen to any problems I have, day or night."

* * *

Whatever the other shortcomings of Jarl Balgruuf, he seemed to realize the importance of keeping members of his court happy. In less than an hour, Katie emerged from the Jarl's house, still holding the Axe of Whiterun in one hand, and wearing the Thane's Circlet on her head. From there, it was a brief march down many stone stairs, and a brisk walk through Whiterun to reach the front gate. At last, she emerged from the large, heavy gates, and there were Gancolm and Kinther, still sitting on the ground nearby, just where they'd said they would. They both looked up at her with firm expressions on their faces, though neither appeared to be particularly hopeful.

"It's not a bad situation at all, really." Katie said as she approached the two, smiling brightly, "The Jarl says the woman's charge of thievery is based on a missing item, but it was just an ordinary ring that she'd bought the day before from a traveling tradesman, and she says that if she gets a hundred pieces of gold to cover the cost of the missing ring, she'll drop all the charges. A hundred gold isn't much, right? Certainly not for a friend."

However, while both men had brightened up just a bit when she'd told them about the conditions of their friend's release, the moment she seemed to be asking them for the money, their faces fell, and they looked somber and stern again, as though they were intensely sad, but too professional in their military discipline to show it.

"Katie, we can't thank you enough for interceding on our behalf..." Gancolm said, standing up and dusting himself off, "However, although we have the money to pay for Tralan's release, we're not at liberty to use it for that. At least not yet."

"What?" Katie asked in shock, almost feeling betrayed, "I don't understand! I thought this guy was supposed to be your friend!"

"It's not as simple as that." Gancolm just said sadly, "We're still soldiers, and we're still on a mission. While we're on this mission, we have permission to use every gold piece we have in finding our mark, but unfortunately, we don't have permission to spend it on anything else. Our commanding officer could give permission for an expenditure like this, but until we've caught the woman, I'm not even sure he would. He'd probably ask whether freeing Tralan would in any way increase the likelihood of us finding our mark, and as things stand now, I couldn't answer 'yes.' I'm sorry, but I'm under orders not to use our gold, except in tracking down the woman. Now, if you were to help us with that..."

"Then I would have earned the gold, and it would belong to me, just like the gold I have already." Katie interrupted him, beginning to scowl a bit darkly, "In that case, you wouldn't be spending your money to free him, and he would have nothing to thank you for. If I want to free your pal, I can free your pal, but I hope someday he realizes what fair-weather friends he's made."

"Orders are orders." Gancolm just replied with a brief shrug, and that was all that Katie needed to see. She was frustrated, and she felt as though her time had been wasted, but at the very least, she knew that she was done with those two.

"Wait a minute!" Gancolm exclaimed as Katie turned to go back into Whiterun, "Are you going to help Tralan?"

However, as Katie pulled open one of the doors, she didn't even look at Gancolm, and was halfway through the door before a reply escaped her lips.

"What do you care?"

Then, the gates slammed shut behind her, leaving the two redguard soldiers alone with the consequences of their choices.

* * *

In only a few minutes, the doors of the Whiterun dungeon opened up, and Katie stepped inside; breathing pretty hard from all the stairs she'd recently needed to climb in succession. The guards at the door saluted at the sight of her circlet and axe, and stood to one side as she opened the first gate and entered the area with the cells, though one guard followed her as she stepped inside. She was carrying, not only her axe, but her spear as well. The axe hung from a loop attached to her clothing at her left hip, while the spear was slung across her back on its own loop, which went over her shoulders. Of course, she'd left her shield behind, as well as her limited armor, since she was pretty sure she wouldn't need them for that little trip.

"I'm not sure how to get in touch with the woman who lost her ring." Katie said to the guard as she looked over the cells, one by one, eventually finding the only cell with a redguard inside, dressed just the same as his companions, "She needs to receive a hundred gold before she'll drop the charges."

"I know her." the guard said, however, "Let me have the gold, and I'll make sure she gets it."

Suspicion crept through Katie's thoughts over those words, but soon, she'd handed the small bag full of gold coins over to the guard.

"Now, remember..." Katie said as she approached the cell, "If she doesn't get those coins, I'll make sure to tell the Jarl about it when I see him again."

"Yes, thane. You can trust me."

Katie still didn't get the impression that the guard was terribly trustworthy, but she turned away from him nonetheless, and towards the cell.

"Hello in there." Katie announced into the cell, trying her best to smile, in spite of the somewhat soggy atmosphere of the cold dungeon, "Are you Tralan?"

"Time for the hearing already, eh?" the redguard asked in a voice that struck her as being just a bit familiar, though he was lying down on his side, and facing away from the door, so she couldn't really have recognized him by sight.

"No." Katie replied, "I'm not here for the hearing. I just wanted to tell you that you're being set free. I've paid your bail, in a sense, so once you..."

"Rubbish." the prisoner muttered, however, just loud enough for Katie to hear, with all the wet echoes in that place, "It's like the guards keep saying around here. No one gets out of these cells. Oh, you may have paid for something. You might think I'll be set free. Maybe they even told you that. All I know is, it won't happen."

Immediately, Katie turned to face the guard with an angry expression on her face, and in just a moment, she asked "What have you been telling these prisoners?"

"Not me, my thane..." the guard replied, taking a couple steps back away from her, in the same way that one might treat an angry rhinocerus, about to charge, "It must be the night watch. Those boys sometimes need some extra discipline to keep them in line. I'll have it seen to at once."

Katie still looked warily at the guard, but in another moment, she was staring back into the cell again. The prisoner still hadn't moved.

"I suppose it's up to you, whether you want to believe me about this or not." Katie said finally, "Still, the least you can do is come over here and look me in the eye. I want you to at least be watching when we open the cell."

For several seconds, there was still no reply from the prisoner, but at last, he got to his feet, and slowly began to turn around. However, the moment he caught a glimpse of the figure who dominated the cell door, he jumped back, right into the opposite wall in alarm.

"You!" the redguard exclaimed, in a mix of genuine amazement, and what sounded surprisingly like anger, "What are -you- doing here? What makes you think I'll let you save me?"

"Huh?" Katie asked, still not able to see the man's face very well, thanks to the shadows, though he clearly recognized her, for some reason, "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't you want to be saved?"

"What?" The man almost shouted, "Do I have to spell it out for you? I've been trying to get out of here for hours, and I failed. If you save me from this dungeon, you will have proven you're better than me at -another- thing. I won't let that happen. No!"

"Don't be stubborn." Katie replied, feeling like she was scolding a spoiled child, "I don't know what your problem is with me, but if you actually want to stay here, you're out of your mind."

"You don't... You don't know..." the prisoner almost stammered, taking a step or two closer, "Don't know what my problem is? Don't know what it is? Don't know?"

Then, in just a moment, he'd rushed at the bars and forced his face right up against them, and that was when Katie realized, in one astonishing moment, just who the prisoner was, and why he was apparently so angry with her. It was a redguard who she'd beating in an eating contest. In fact, she realized, she'd beaten him on the very night before she'd gotten lost in the woods, and lost months' worth of memories; the man who'd asked her whether she was happy with her life.

"So..." the prisoner said, finally starting to grin just a little at the surprised look on the thane's face, "You remember me, even though I never told you my name. Well, I guess you know it now. Anyway, I'm sure you can now see why I... Wait... What? What are you doing? Stop that this instant! Don't you dare laugh at me!"

However, Katie couldn't help herself. She was laughing harder than she had in months; perhaps even years. She laughed so hard, that she thought she might burst, so hard that she shook all over. In fact, she laughed so hard that her breath gave out, and she fell over on the dungeon floor, clutching her stomach with both hands and barely able to breath. Her laughter filled the whole dungeon, so that nearly all the guards started smiling, and soon, some of them had begun laughing too; a tendency which certainly wasn't strange to them. Even some of the prisoners were starting to laugh. The only person in that dungeon who wasn't laughing -or- smiling was, of course, Tralan.

"You scum." he sputtered out, though his voice failed to rise above the din of the laughter that dominated the whole dungeon, "You spoiled, fat, civilian trash! You should have a scimitar through your lungs for this! I'll make you pay for this humiliation somehow!"

It took a while for Katie to stop laughing, and a minute more before she caught her breath with one final "oh, my," and began to process of getting to her feet again. Still, the scowling face of the prisoner brought her even more giggles once she was up, though not enough to interfere with her ability to stand, or reply to him again.

"Don't look at me like that." Katie giggled happily, "You'll make me laugh again."

"Tactless horker." the prisoner snarled, "Do you have any idea what I've been through since..."

"Well, whatever you've been through, it wasn't my fault, so you can start by not blaming me anymore." Katie observed, still smiling over the man's continual stream of personal insults.

"Wasn't you fault?!" Tralan shouted furiously, "If you hadn't beaten me in that eating contest at the Slow Sabrecat, none of this..."

"I think you've got the wrong idea about all of this, frankly." Katie said, however, interrupting him, "I don't know what you bet on yourself winning that contest, but you shouldn't place bets unless you're sure you can win. Even if you -are- sure you can win, you probably shouldn't be..."

"I never gambled." Tralan clarified, still with an icy chill seeming to flow from his lips as he spoke.

"Then I still have no idea what your problem is." Katie said at last, "We played a game. You lost the game. You went home. As far as I'm concerned, it really doesn't have to go further than that."

"My 'problem' is that if I'd beat you, then that would have been enough. I'd finally know I was the absolute best at something. You're just like all the others, though. You really -are- the best at something, and you don't even care. You don't deserve half of the talent you've been given. Regular folks like me can only dream of the place you have, and I'll bet most of the other people in this jail would admit it if they took a few minutes to think it over."

"I feel sorry for you." Katie said as she put both hands up against the frame of the cell door, "I guess all I can say is that I've met a bunch of people who aren't the best, and none of them threw a hissy fit over it."

As expected, however, her words hadn't gotten through. The prisoner was still scowling, though he wasn't bothering to say any more for the moment.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter what you say." she said at last, backing away from the cell, "You're not going to be using up one of the Jarl's good cells from now on. Guard; the door..."

The guard reached into one of his pockets, then made a show of looking all over for something, but at last, he turned to Katie with a sad expression on his face. By that point, however, she knew that something was up, even before he spoke.

"Sorry, miss. I could swear I had the key on me, but I can't seem to find it."

"I paid for this man's release." she said, however, tapping her good-sized, left foot on the ground a few times in impatience as she spoke, "Find the key now. It's got to still be somewhere in the dungeon, right?"

"Oh, of course. Of course." the guard said with a smile that she knew wasn't genuine, the moment she saw it, "But I'm a little shorthanded right now. At least one man needs to be by the entrance, and another to accompany visiters. That's regulations. When you leave, I'll be able to start looking. Although, it's almost lunchtime, so I may postpone the search until after..."

"Nothing's going to get postponed." Katie said angrily, convinced by that point that the guard had been lying about setting his prisoner free, in spite of his word to her, "I'm not leaving until this prisoner is released. Regulations or no regulations, you open that door somehow."

"Sorry, miss..." the guard just replied with a shake of his head. She was fed up by that point, however, and in just a moment, had turned back to face the cell door.

"Stand back, Tralan." Katie said, still with a hint of anger in her voice over the corruption and incompetence that she seemed to be surrounded by, and finally, after taking a few steps back, she charged towards the door with all her might, before the guard could stop her.

With a mighty crash, the lock popped as Katie slammed her body into the door. The hinges groaned, but held firm. However, the door was unlocked, at least, and swung open in a hurry, without any further resistance to her.

"There." Katie observed at last, stepping away from the cell, "Now get him out of there, and hurry it up."

Though they'd been resistent to the idea at first, the guards had soon removed the cell's occupant, and he seemed too shocked by what had just happened to voice any objections to it, or to struggle, until he'd been deposited outside. By then, of course, there was no point in trying to break back into the dungeon.

Finally, the man dared to look back up into Katie's face, and the cheery smile that he found there drove him back into a passionate anger again.

"I meant what I said back there." Tralan hissed, looking Katie up and down one last time, "You're going to regret this. I won't stand for being beaten a second time like this. You'll pay."

Still, as Tralan staggered away and nearly tripped on his way down the stairs, the only thing that Katie could feel for the poor fool was pity. He was a powerful man in his own right, no doubt, but he was a very proud man too, and it was destroying him.

* * *

Before too long, Katie had returned to the Bannered Mare, to pick up the rest of her things, and invite Lydia to come along with her. When she told her housecarl the whole story, Lydia seemed to take an interest, and asked her a question, seemingly out of genuine curiosity.

"I'm surprised you didn't return to Gancolm and his friend, to tell them that their partner was safe. In your place, I might have even helped them search for the person they were looking for, if the pay was good."

"Those two should have protected Tralan from the very beginning, or at least tried to keep him out of trouble, and when he got into trouble, they should have rescued him themselves."

"What about their orders?" Lydia asked, "If you're given an order, you don't disobey it. I agree with them in that area."

"Maybe." Katie replied, "Still, there's times when it's morally wrong to obey orders, and then you just can't, no matter what. If I was ever ordered to abandon a friend when I could easily have saved him..."

"I'm sure their captain didn't give those orders lightly." Lydia suggested, "From the sounds of it, their troop is far from home, on an urgent quest, and their mission objective needs to take priority. There may even be a great deal at stake, for all we know. Suppose they only have a limited amount of time and resources to locate this person with. Now suppose that once the person is found, they can start taking jobs, paying for rescue operations and the like. Under those circumstances, I would leave a friend behind. Besides, in war, one is sometimes called upon to leave friends behind for the sake of following orders and saving lives. Surely, you're not trying to deny that."

"Seems like a lot of wild guesses to me." Katie just replied with a shrug, "Sure, maybe you sometimes have to leave a friend behind in very rare and specific circumstances, but we don't have any reason to think that was the case here. Anyway, they could have done -something.- Maybe asked some of the local villagers for help or something, started begging... You know. Something."

"It does sound as if they handled the situation poorly." Lydia remarked sadly, "You've made me a bit curious about them, my thane, though I doubt I'll be visiting them either; at least not in the near future. Besides, we have important tasks of our own to get to."

"Right." Katie replied, though she could feel a lump forming in her throat as she thought about what lay ahead, "I just hope this trend of people acting like idiots hasn't spread to the Companions yet."

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. The two redguards are nameless in the game itself, and they'll never recognize you or remark on your past, or on their own.

2. Here, the redguard soldiers have a reason for not assisting their buddy. They don't have any such reason in the game. In fact, they never even mention him.

3. The redguard in the cell isn't familiar to you in Skyrim, and you're not sent there by the others of his group, but by someone who's trying to escape them. His name is also never given.

4. It's literally impossible to free the imprisoned redguard in Skyrim. The guard just says he'll look for the key eventually, and the prisoner is never freed.

5. Likewise, no degree of force will break open a cell door without unlocking it first. That only works here because breaking locks is something I wrote into the homebrew RPG I'm using for this, and Katie rolled a 14 on her charging attack.


	12. Chapter 12: The Test of Vilkas

Chapter 12: The Test of Vilkas

* * *

The group of fighters known as the Companions were almost a centerpiece of the city of Whiterun. They'd set up shop in a large longhouse, which had been given the name of "Jorrvaskr" by the locals. Katie had passed it several times before, without realizing what it was, because it was almost in the very shadow of the Jarl's house. Still, the building looked almost nothing like an ordinary longhouse from the outside. The first floor seemed to have been designed like every other building in town, or else an old building had been torn apart, and only the first floor left behind, It was a normal series of wooden walls, complete with normal doors and windows, in the style that was popular in Whiterun. However, above the first seven feet or so, Jorrvaskr seemed to have been made by simply laying the hull of a good-sized ship upside-down on top of the first floor walls, then adding additional supports diagonally around the hall in order to hold the extra weight in place. Of course, it was possible that the roof had only been made to -look- like a ship. There was no way to be certain which was true.

However, the more that Katie looked at it, the more she questioned that conclusion. It was odd, because there was evidence for it, but also evidence against it. For one thing, parts of the roof stuck up above the hull of the ship, more roof-like than ship-like, which seemed to indicate a deliberate design. However, there were small sections of the roof, where boards had come loose as well, and that seemed to imply that it really -had- been a ship at one time, and had been patched and used for a roof once it had fallen into too much disrepair to be used for sea travel.

The only question that Katie had on the subject was how a boat that big could have been gotten all the way to Whiterun if it had once sailed an ocean. Whiterun was almost in the dead center of Skyrim, and towering mountains surrounded it on most sides. Moving something that heavy must have required teams of horses, and taking teams of horses over the mountains was a difficult task for something as trivial as building a roof.

Then again, she thought, it was just possible that whoever had built Jorrvaskr had been the previous owner of the ship, and had come to attach sentimental value to it, being unwilling to let it go. Such a person might separate his old ship into boards and nails, then take it, piece by piece, to his home and reassemble it there. It would still be a difficult task, but at least she could understand why someone might go to the trouble.

Those were the kinds of thoughts that Katie had going through her head as she walked up the series of short, stone steps leading to Jorrvaskr, with Lydia following close behind, pushed open the front doors and stepped inside.

* * *

The outside of Jorrvaskr had looked as though it had fallen into some disrepair, with some of the boards missing from the roof and all, but the inside was positively lavish. Tables surrounded a fire pit in the center of the hall, and wooden pillars surrounded those, with ornate carvings set into the wood. hanging from both the pillars and the ceiling were a series of wool tapestries, dyed red, and the carved, stone floor had several throw-rugs on it, colored red and yellow, to match the tapestries and flames. There were also tablecloths made in the same design. Trophies of successful hunts; the stuffed heads of deer and elk had been hung on the pillars as well, and there were even chandeliers hanging from the support beams of the ceiling on thick chains. Then, of course, there was the food and drink. The food was piled high, on trays and platters all across the table; a large assortment of cheeses, breads, pies and especially meat. The series of small kegs that sat off to one side of the room seemed to indicate the source of the drink that the companions used. In a certain sense, the place almost felt like home to Katie, since it reminded her of the Slow Sabrecat. However, if anything, it was even bigger, and -much- more richly-adorned.

The moment that Katie arrived, though, something else happened, which reminded her, once again, of the Slow Sabrecat, though really, it could have been any bar or tavern. A fight had broken out between a couple of the people there.

She could hear someone announcing "Are those two at it again?" and soon, the other inhabitants of Jorrvaskr had gathered around the two combatants to watch. However, that made Katie smile when she saw it. She'd been present at numerous bar-fights; even served tables during several, and indeed, that was one of the reasons why the people of the Slow Sabrecat had never minded having her there, even in her off hours. Whenever a fight began, she wouldn't try to interrupt it; she'd just stand off to one side, between the fighters and whatever they seemed most likely to damage, and catch anyone or anything that flew in her direction. Of course, Katie had had certain advantages when it came to a job like that, but anyone could really have done it, and she was pleased to see that the inhabitants of Jorrvaskr had learned the technique so well, encircling the two combatants to keep them from damaging anything.

Soon, one combatant had knocked the other to the floor with one last punch, and the other fighter yielded. The whole thing was over in less than a minute, though both fighters seemed pretty tough to Katie. Finally, as the fight ended, those who'd been watching it dispersed, going back to their tables and meals, or to whatever else they'd been doing, and that was when she realized that the time had come to start asking about joining.

The first person she asked wasn't, it seemed, even a Companion, but had simply started hanging around Jorrvaskr for some reason. However, the second person at least gave her a direct answer.

"Look, if it were up to me, I'd never let you join," he said, "but it's not up to me. The one who decides who gets to join is Kodlak Whitemane. You talk to him, and maybe you'll get a proper rejection, if you're lucky."

Katie felt like challenging the man to an arm-wrestling match, right then and there, but she soon reminded herself that she was there to learn how to follow orders, and could pick fights later, if she had the time. Soon, taking indications from a few more of the people in the main hall, she proceeded down a series of steps off to the right side of the main hall, and found another door down there, opening it and slipping inside.

* * *

The door opened out into a refreshingly-large hallway, with small tables, chairs and the occasional piece of pottery lining the edges. There were doors, up and down each side, but fortunately, Katie could already see a white-bearded, old man in armor, through a door at the far end of the corridor, sitting at a table and talking to someone.

As she got closer to the old man, she felt a slight nervousness creeping up on her. She was a little scared that he might just turn her away on the basis of her appearance, the way the warrior upstairs would have, but then again, if he did, she was off the hook, in a sense, and it was possible that Eron might still be willing to teach her, even if the Companions refused to accept her.

However, the full implications of those thoughts hadn't even traveled all the way through her head when she was standing in front of the white-bearded man, and a taller man who was sitting next to him; just as heavily-armored, but a good deal younger. Not having any good reason for hesitating, Katie spoke up at once, and both men, who'd been watching her as she entered, continued to look oddly at her while she spoke.

"Are you Kodlak?"

"Yes. That's me." the old man in the white beard replied with a friendly smile, "You don't strike me as a messenger girl, though, and I've paid my tab at all the local taverns and businesses already, so you wouldn't be here about that. This can't be an advertisement. Heh heh. Certainly not. So, you're here to ask about joining the companions. Am I right?"

Just like that, Katie found herself amazed. The man's wit, it seemed, had only sharpened with age, and for a moment, she was herself a bit envious of it. Still, she stood up straight and nodded silently, not sure what else to say.

"Well, the very fact that you're even asking is a positive sign." Kodlak replied with a smile, "It proves you've got heart. I can also tell that you've been in many fights before; perhaps even some very large and dangerous fights. Most of the people we get here start out as hunters by profession, but something tells me that's not the case with you."

"Back home," she said quickly, though a bit regretfully, "I was a waitress, and a blacksmith's assistant."

"So tell me something." Kodlak said at last, "What's your name, and what's the largest animal you've ever killed?"

Those, of course, were easy questions to answer, although she didn't expect the old man to believe the answers that she had to give.

"I'm Katie, sir." she said with a short bow, "The biggest thing I ever killed was... Well... It was a dragon, sir."

Sure enough, the moment that those words escaped from her mouth, Kodlak's eyes widened, and his friendly smile vanished. Suddenly, there was a look on his face, like someone who'd just seen a unicorn, and was searching the distant landcape with all his might, desperately trying to catch sight of the rare beast again. However, after a few seconds, he looked into Katie's eyes again, then asked her the question she'd been expecting.

"This wouldn't happen to be the same dragon from two nights ago, would it? The one whose death prompted that nice, big celebration?"

Katie just nodded, not sure what to say, exactly.

"You're not serious." the other man remarked disbelievingly, "Master, you don't really believe this, do you?"

"I'm nobody's master," Kodlak replied with a chuckle, "and if the Jarl believes it, I suppose I can too. I'm sure that's the reason he appointed her to the position of thane. Yes, Katie, I saw you last night, with that circlet on your head. You can't fool me. You're the thane, whether you like or not, though if it gives you any consolation, that won't make you too many friends around here. Having killed a dragon, though? Well, that might earn you some respect. We'll just have to wait and see if you deserve it."

Before Katie could reply, however, the younger man objected.

"Kodlak, you can't really be thinking of letting her join."

"Why not?" the older man asked, however, "She's decided to put herself in danger, and she's proven that she's good at it. Even if she can't fight at all, the worst that'll happen is that she'll die on a mission or something."

"What if she gets us noticed during an infiltration mission?" the young warrior asked disappointedly. However, Katie felt like it would be appropriate to respond to that.

"I suppose I could hang back during missions like those." she said, trying to smile.

"Once she's through with the initial training process, we can decide what kinds of missions to send her on, based on her skills." Kodlak began explaining, as though Katie hadn't even said a word, "If she can fight, that's ideal, but you should never make these kinds of choices on the basis of first impressions. One of the most dangerous men I've ever known was less than four feet tall, with a bent back and a long, white beard."

The younger warrior just sighed by that point, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, and remarking "Fine, fine."

"You'll be going with Vilkas here, to test your skill, and the strength of your arm." Kodlak continued, turning back to face her again, "How are you in battle?"

Some part of Katie wanted to start talking about her various battles and victories; especially her victory over the dragon, but another part of her had soon decided that it wouldn't be appropriate, and in a few moments, she was speaking a bit more softly.

"Well, I came here to learn how to take orders and fight properly, and I probably have a lot to learn."

"That's the spirit!" Kodlak replied, his expression brightening quite a bit when he heard her say that, "What about your friend? If she's going to be coming on missions with you, I should at least clear..."

However, Kodlak's voice trailed off once Lydia actually stepped forward, and he got a good look at her. For a few moments, the two just looked at each other sternly, but at last, Kodlak was the first one who spoke up, and his words seemed to indicate that he knew Lydia already.

"You're not planning to join the Companions yourself, are you?"

"No, although as Katie's housecarl, I may follow her on missions, if she allows it."

"Her housecarl? I'm surprised the Jarl was willing to let you go."

"It's not my place to speak ill of the Jarl." Lydia just replied a bit stiffly, "You know that."

"Yeah. I know." Kodlak muttered, then turning back to face Katie again, apparently in a somwhat dampened mood, he said, "I'd sent a small child on dangerous missions if Lydia was in their company. Alright. You two can head out back now. Katie; you'll be having your abilities tested."

"Not Lydia?" Katie asked, starting to feel just a little left out, as though she was missing something that the others had been discussing in secret. However, it seemed that Kodlak, at least, didn't care to expand on what he'd said already.

"No." he merely said, "It's not necessary to test her."

Then, with a slight scowl on his face, he sat back down and started looking at the floor.

It was only once Katie was well out of earshot of Kodlak that she dared to ask Lydia any questions about what had just happened, and Lydia, fortunately, was very forthcoming with her answers.

"I've never been tempted to join the companions myself, in the past." Lydia explained with a dispassionate look on her face, "The whole outfit is a bit too... informal for me. Kodlak and I did meet once before, however, when he and his men approached the Jarl over some dispute about a little girl hurting herself near Jorrvaskr, or something of the sort. As I understand it, the judgement eventually turned against them, and Kodlak started to raise a bit of a commotion, insisting on the outcome of the case being changed. I believe there was even a threat that they wouldn't leave until they got what they were after. The last time I saw Kodlak, the Jarl had instructed me to show him and his men the way out."

"So what happened?" Katie asked, already feeling intensely curious about the story, and what it would reveal about her new housecarl.

That, however, was when the hint of a smile started to creep across Lydia's face, and she simply replied, "I showed them out."

"Whoa..." Katie remarked, opening the door to the upper hall, but not daring to look away from her housecarl, "Didn't you get hurt? I mean..."

"I do remember getting a bruise on my left shoulder at the time, and a scratch on my right cheek," Lydia admitted, "but those are the risks you take in my line of work."

It was just then, however, that Katie began to realize just what Lydia was implying, and asked her, "Did they get hurt?"

"Nothing too serious." Lydia replied with a shrug as she entered the main hall after Katie, "The big one didn't guard his neck properly, and the youngest had a glass jaw. Kodlak was by far the strongest. He's old, but he knows how to fight. I had to knock him on his back three times before he realized there was no point in fighting me anymore."

"Wow." Katie remarked in utter amazement, "I can see why he reacted to you like he did. Maybe you should spar with me sometime."

"Certainly, if you wish it." Lydia replied, starting to really smile at last, "Just tell me the proper time, and I'll do my best to keep from injuring you."

The comment made Katie want to chuckle just a little, but if anything that Lydia had just said was true, it might have been entirely justified.

* * *

Before too long, the two were back outside again, behind the actual longhouse, and it was perfectly clear that the place had been intended as a training ground of some kind. The ground was made of stone, but there were wooden dummies with target symbols on them all up and down the far side of the property, which bordered a thick, stone wall. Obviously, the place had been intended to serve as both a training ground for archers, and also a large enough, open space for fighters who used swords or axes to practice their art.

In spite of his clear dislike for Katie, it didn't take Vilkas long to follow her outside, and once he'd stepped through the back door, he reached her position in seconds.

"Okay." Vilkas said as he stepped around Katie, and eventually stood facing her, "If you've been in battle before, this shouldn't be hard for you. When I say the word 'now,' I want you to attack me with everything you've got, and I when I say 'enough,' I want you to stop. Got that?"

"Are you kidding?" Katie asked, horrified by the very idea, "If I do that, you'll..."

"Look, you said downstairs that you wanted to learn how to take orders and fight properly. Well, take orders! Fight me now!"

In a flash, the man in front of her had drawn a sword, and Katie had just enough time to whip her spear out, before he could strike, but he would have hit her right in the left hip if he hadn't stopped short at the last second. It was only just then that Katie realized that Vilkas hadn't intended to attack her, and for a moment, she wondered if he'd intended for her to attack him with her full power either, but just at that point, he paused, and said, "I said 'attack with everything you've got.' Don't make me repeat myself again."

That, Katie decided, was enough. Even if Vilkas -didn't- mean for her to try to injure him, he'd been pushing her too far, and he still hadn't said "enough" yet.

In a flash, Katie's spear shot out, slamming into the armored man's shoulder, and knocking him back for a moment, but he responded by twisting his body downward, out of the way of the blow, and drove his sword upward, into her.

Katie winced in pain as the blade penetrated her skin, and for a moment, Lydia's eyes widened, though she didn't advance to try to rescue her thane. Apparently, Lydia was a very good soldier indeed, and would wait for an order from her commander. She, it seemed, had already mastered the art of taking orders. However, Katie just had one more decision to make; whether to continue the fight, knowing full well that her life might be on the line. The man in front of her was an expert fighter, but then again, she had to take orders from him, and she still hadn't given the fight everything she had yet.

"That's the danger of leaving part of your body unarmored during a fight." Vilkas said, backing off a few feet, "I've heard of some folks who trained their bodies to compensate for it, but in youuugh!"

Once again, Katie's spear had made contact, bridging the distance between the two of them easily, and striking one of her enemy's legs hard. His armor had blunted the blow a bit, but it was clear that he hadn't expected her to continue fighting.

"Say 'enough,' and you're off the hook." Katie suggested; a remark which she suspected would make the man angry, but rather than getting mad, he actually seemed to be smiling just a little. In a flash, he'd darted forward and attacked with his blade again, but as before, the blade didn't dig in very far, and soon, her spear had made another clean strike; that time on the opposite shoulder.

They continued trading blows for a few seconds, but when Vilkas' blows continually failed to do much, and Katie's attacks continued to knock him back, again and again, the truth of his situation seemed to dawn on the fighter. At last, just as she was about to drive her spear into his armor again, Vilkas exclaimed "enough!"

After she heard that word shouted, Katie had just enough time to pull back on her spear, and stop it from connecting. The two had been delivering blows to one another with their weapons for several dozen seconds already, and yet, while Vilkas looked half dead, Katie's injuries were no worse than a collection of minor cuts and scrapes around her torso. However, in spite of her clear advantage in that fight, it seemed that the fighter of the Companions wasn't about to admit that he'd been beaten.

"There's... a reason I've... held back until... -aah!- until now." Vilkas stammered out, digging a small bottle out of his belt and starting to drink the formula inside. It seemed that it was a healing potion, since the moment he downed it, his injuries began to disappear, though of course, he didn't offer any to Katie.

"I just wanted to see... what kinds of moves you knew how to use. You don't get to see that when you attack your enemy full-force. Anyway, your moves are very basic, but you know how to use them to your advantage. That counts for something. Alright; you're in. Just remember that even if you did kill a dragon, you're still a rookie to us. Here's your first job; I want you to take my sword up to Eorlund Gray-Mane at the skyforge over there. Tell him I sent you, and get him to work on the sword. It's going to need some sharpening, as I'm sure you've noticed firsthand."

Then, with those words, Vilkas handed his sword over to Katie and started off for the back entrance of Jorrvaskr. However, she couldn't help but notice that in spite of how much his body had healed, he still had a slight limp in his stride.

Once Vilkas had re-entered Jorrvaskr, Katie took a short sip from one of her own healing potions, then turned to look at Lydia again, who was still watching her with a sort of puzzled expression on her face. It almost made Katie laugh again, to see that expression, but in the end, she looked at her housecarl with a smile, and spoke up.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry, my thane." Lydia replied a bit stiffly, "I was unaware that you wanted me to interfere in your duel."

"Oh, no. I didn't want you to do that at all!" Katie exclaimed, raising both hands with a slightly embarrassed smile, "I'm just asking what you thought of my fight. That's all."

"Oh. I see." Lydia noted, putting one knuckle under her chin and closing her eyes, as if picturing the fight in her mind. Finally, she replied, although her words drove the smile from Katie's face for a moment.

"You're rather sloppy, and you waste a lot of energy. I could have disarmed Vilkas in two maneuvers, if I'd been in your position. You also seem to move your weapon, either in simple, jabbing motions, or large, wide arcs most of the time. Is that something you can help?"

"No. Not really." Katie replied with a brief shake of her head, "My arms don't move as far up as yours, and they obviously don't move as far down either, so I have to sort of twist in mid-swing to do my spear moves. Not much I can really do about that. As for wasting energy, it's mine to waste, isn't it? If I've got the energy, why not put it to use?"

"Because you never know when you might be ambushed, while exhausted from a previous fight." Lydia explained, still without missing a beat, and without smiling, "Remember, it doesn't matter how much punishment you can take. If you get too tired to defend yourself, you've lost."

"In that case, maybe you can show me how to conserve energy while we're sparring later." Katie suggested, but Lydia started to turn away when she said that, and her next words were very unexpected.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about that. Your fighting technique is very effective, but very different from mine. I'm not sure how much I could actually teach you."

"You're just worried you'll lose." Katie joked, but the moment she said that, Lydia turned back to face her again, looking very upset at first. At last, after a few seconds, she just sighed, folded her arms, and looked up into the sky for a few moments without saying a word. It was, Katie thought, a little odd. Lydia was the ideal professional in a lot of ways, and yet, she seemed to have virtually no understanding of normal, good humor or how to relax. In a way, she was a tragic case.

Still, somehow, Katie got the impression that an attempt to probe the depths of her problems just then would be unwelcome, so for the moment, she just headed up the nearby stone steps that Vilkas had directed her towards; in the direction of the place that he'd called "Skyforge."

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. Kodlak doesn't recognize any of your past accomplishments in Skyrim; not even the killing of a dragon. Even if you're the head of the college of Winterhold, the thane, the winner of the war and the Dragonborn, Vilkas still says that he's never heard of you, and Kodlak still says that not everyone who joins the companions needs to be famous.

2. Kodlak's relationship to Lydia is nonexistent in Skyrim. They don't know each other, and Kodlak doesn't even react to Lydia's presence. In fact, almost no one in the entire game does.

3. Vilkas doesn't actually try to drive you off in Skyrim. He does so in this story because he -really- dislikes Katie in a way that he wouldn't dislike any other main character in Skyrim.

4. You can't hold conference with Lydia about anything. You can give her directions, ask her to trade with you, or even part ways with her, but regardless, Lydia will never give her opinion about anything that happens in the game, which means that I have a lot of freedom in terms of how I write her character in this story.


	13. Chapter 13: The Companions

Chapter 13: The Companions

* * *

There were quite a few steps leading up to "skyforge," but not nearly as many as the ones that had led up to the Jarl's house, and soon, Katie had reached the top. Lydia wasn't far behind, but she waited while her thane took in the new sights.

The entire platform on which Skyforge was located was oppressively-hot, and smoke seemed to rise from the whole area, into the sky far above. Still, it wasn't hard to see why. Right on one side, there was a vast sculpture of a bird; at least twenty feet high with a wingspan of twenty-five or more, and resting at the feet of the statue was a basin, surrounded by a thick, stone wall. The basin seemed to contain lava, and a strong, metal chain had been suspended over the edge of it; probably to lower weapons and armor towards the molten rock; heating them up fast.

Also, there were some stone platforms near the basin, a whetstone for sharpening blades, and another, smaller basin, filled with water, which was right next to a large, sturdy-looking anvil; and was probably used for working the metal. It was a very oddly-designed forge, to say the least. However, the man who stood at the forge, working with a large hammer, was odd in his own way.

Of course, he was lightly-dressed, with a lot of exposed skin, but given how sweltering the open lava made Skyforge, even from yards away, that was to be expected. What Katie found odd were the long, white hair and beard that he wore. Not only would that much hair make the heat even worse, but it might catch fire if he got too close to the forge itself. In fact, Katie thought after a few moments, he must have some kind of enchantment to protect himself from heat. No man would try to harness lava in the middle of a town without some way of protecting himself from it.

Just walking towards the man seemed to make the heat worse, and when she finally reached him, every second was starting to hurt. Still, she bore the heat and the pain, pulling out the sword that Vilkas had given her.

"Sir!" Katie exclaimed, waving the sword a little, and after only a second, the man with the long, gray hair looked at her, then at the sword, then nodded briefly. However, it was a few seconds before he stepped away from the forge and walked the rest of the distance to where Katie was standing, retrieving the sword from her hands with a curious smile.

"Don't tell me." the gray-haired man remarked, his smile broadening just a little as he spoke, "Vilkas, right?"

"Yeah..." Katie just replied, not sure what else to say to the man, as she watched his nimble fingers run over the blade along both of its flat sides, then briefly, along its tip. Still, he came off without a scratch.

"I suppose you two are new recruits." the old man observed with a smile, "Vilkas only does this with new blood."

"Well, I'm a new recruit, anyway." Katie clarified, but that remark alone seemed to have told the gray-haired old man; probably Eorlund Gray-Mane, all he needed to know.

"Yes. I thought as much. Just remember from now on; don't let the others push you around. Now that you're a companion, they have no right to tell you what to do."

However, that remark had made Katie a little confused, and in spite of the heat, which was still oppressive, she soon found herself asking another question.

"Mister Gray-Mane, sir?"

"Just Gray-Mane is fine, miss."

"Gray-Mane? I don't understand. Aren't the companions a sort of independant militia? I mean, don't they have some kind of command structure?"

By that point, however, Gray-Mane was starting to chuckle, even as Lydia's eyes narrowed just a bit, though she seemed unsurprised.

"I don't know how they've done it," Gray-Mane said at last, "but they've got no boss, no leader and no companion commands any other companion, and yet, they haven't torn each other to shreds. It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

"You're right to be amazed by that." Lydia remarked, although the words almost made Katie jump. She'd never expected Lydia to speak up in the middle of a conversation like that, and in fact, Lydia looked as though she was ashamed of having done so for a moment, until Katie looked directly at her, and with a smile, said "go ahead."

"There's a reason why military forces operate the way they do." Lydia continued, still not smiling, though it was obvious that she appreciated the opportunity to speak, "Any soldier can act on his own, waste money, equipment and blood, and accomplish a thing or two in the process, but the big jobs require a team effort, and that requires proper organization and discipline. The tactics that can be set in motion by a properly-organized team, working under a qualified leader are far more effective than if each acted independantly of the others. I think it may have been a waste of time coming here, Katie."

"What?" Gray-Mane asked, sounding genuinely curious about what Lydia was talking about.

"We came here to learn the discipline proper to the battlefield." Lydia explained quickly, and a bit curtly, "If we're not being assigned a commanding officer, there's not much point in staying here at all."

"Look, miss..." Gray-Mane replied with a calm smile, "The companions get plenty of membership, and the reason is that they can offer warriors the chance to fight free. In fact, I'd say no military in the world can offer the kind of freedom the companions do."

"I should say not," Lydia almost sneered at the gray-bearded man, "but they offer more important kinds of freedom instead."

"Like what?" Gray-Mane asked, looking truly interested, but his face fell when Lydia gave her answers.

"Like the freedom to take orders from the commanding officer, and demonstrate genuine loyalty in obeying them. Like the freedom to work for a cause greater than yourself and your own selfish ambitions. Like the freedom to be limited in what you can and can't do. The freedom to be disciplined, Gray-Mane, and forgive me for being blunt, but the freedom to be strong, as a result. No freedoms can be more important than those. I've lived under those freedoms for most of my life, and these typical, self-driven warriors may not want to accept them, but the fruits of those freedom are far greater than your 'method,' such as it is. I'd bet my beating heart that I could thrash any five of your undisciplined, leaderless rabble, armed or..."

"Stop, Lydia." Katie said, however, and at once, Lydia stopped, taking a few steps back away from the forge and putting her back up against one of the nearby walls. She'd fallen silent in mid-sentence. It was amazing. Katie had to admit that she'd never seen such a strong sense of self-discipline in a single human being before. There was, she thought, something enviable about that. Still, Lydia could be rather mean-spirited and prejudiced; even vindictive if she wasn't kept on a short leash. It was an odd combination.

"There's no point in insulting them, even if you hate their whole way of life." Katie said aloud at last, "Also, I'm not going to leave the companions, just over this. Eron told me to come here to learn how to follow orders in combat, but maybe he just meant that the companions could give me combat experience, and you could teach me discipline, or something like that."

"If you'd like to give that a try, I'll certainly do my best to make it happen, Katie." Lydia replied, and that was all, for the moment, that there was to say on the subject. Gray-Mane seemed a little crestfallen, and Lydia a little flustered, but at the very least, Katie thought, she'd accomplished part of the mission that Eron had given her, not long ago. She was a member of the companions.

However, in spite of having gotten the worst of his brief argument with Lydia, Gray-Mane still seemed like he had something to say to Katie.

"I suppose that even if you don't like our ways, you'd still be willing to do me a favor? It shouldn't take long."

"What's up?" Katie asked, feeling a little better as the subject of discussion changed to something a bit safer.

"I've been working on a shield for Aela, and I just finished it." Gray-Mane explained, looking a little encouraged by Katie's cheerfulness, "She should be back in Jorrvaskr right now, if you'd care to give me a hand. I wish I could offer you some reward, but... Well... It's no mission or anything. I was just wondering if you'd care to help me out."

"No, that's alright." Katie replied, however, taking the shield just a moment later, and drawing a gratified smile from the old man, "I've got a little time before bed. I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, miss." Gray-Mane just replied, then immediately went back to his work on the sword she'd given him, and for the time being, that was all he had to say.

* * *

It only took Katie a minute or two to descend from Skyforge and re-enter Jorrvaskr, but actually finding Aela took a little longer. As it turned out, she was in a closed-off room on one side of the hallway in the basement, and Katie had needed to do some asking around before she stumbled on any clues that pointed to Aela's location. Still, there was a sense of relief in her heart, when she walked up to Aela and handed her the shield. It felt good to be accomplishing something as simple as a delivery, and it reminded her of the time she'd spent, waiting tables in the Slow Sabrecat.

Aela was well-armored, and was wearing a sort of odd facepaint, which made her look as though a bear had bashed her in the face, leaving a huge, blue mark in the shape of a bear claw. Katie wasn't sure how to feel about the facepaint, but she was pleased by Aela's satisfied smile.

"Thanks." Aela said casually, taking the shield that had been offered to her, "I've been waiting for this. So, are you the one that thrashed old Vilkas?"

"Um..." Katie muttered, not sure how to reply to that, "Well, I don't know... Thrashed?"

"Think you could take Vilkas in a real fight?" Aela asked with a sly smile, as though she were rolling some plan over in her mind, even as she proposed the notion, but Katie didn't even pause before replying to that.

"You mean that wasn't a real... I mean, he was holding back? Wow. He's tough."

For a moment, Aela just looked confused, then a little upset, but at last, she sighed, as though she honestly wasn't sure what to make of Katie's reply, and finally, she spoke again, clearly forcing a calm smile.

"I guess I can appreciate that approach, but if you're any kind of fighter, you'll get the chance to prove yourself soon. Just a moment..."

Then, cupping both hands around her mouth in the shape of a horn, Aela shouted at the top of her lungs, "Farkas!"

Katie almost jumped right out of her boots at the sound of that shout, but soon, a large, muscular nord with brown hair and a slight beard had moved into the doorway that she'd entered by, and as it happened, between Katie and Lydia.

"Farkas; this is Katie. She's our new recruit."

For a moment, Farkas' eyes widened, and at first, Katie thought that it was just the same kind of attention she always got, but then Farkas revealed that he'd heard something about her already, and was staring at her for a different reason.

"Katie! Not Katie the dragonslayer!"

"Yeah..." Katie replied, feeling a little awkward by that point, "Kind of..."

"That's enough, Farkas." Aela replied, however, looking calm, but just a bit irritated as well, "I suspect you'll have the chance to discuss things with her later, but now, I think you should be helping her settle in. Show her the quarters we keep around here."

"Right... Right..." Farkas muttered, still looking half-dazed, but soon, he was walking silently through the hallways, followed closely by Katie and her housecarl.

In just a few moments, Farkas had lead the two to a fairly large room with a series of cots arranged along the walls.

"It's not much, I guess," Farkas admitted as Katie felt the somewhat old, though still sturdy cots, "Still, if you need a place to rest, just lay down here. The hall's upstairs, if you need a bite or a drink, and for work, come to Aela or me. We do most of the job hunting for our little group."

"Thank you." Katie replied, not sure what else to say, for the moment, and for some reason, not expecting Farkas to say anything else either. Of course, she was wrong about that.

"I hope you stick around, dragonslayer." Farkas said at last, smiling just a little as he headed for the door, "It'd be a shame to lose you."

Then, just like that, the armored man left, and Katie felt as though a lead anchor had just been dropped on her shoulders. It had felt pretty good to be able to help her family, of course, but she didn't think she'd ever get used to being called things like "thane" or "dragonslayer."

Those were the kinds of worries that filled Katie's head as she drifted off to sleep that night, back in the Bannered Mare. Of course, the companions had beds, but Katie just trusted Hulda's bed more.

* * *

The next few weeks were very hard for Katie, and she didn't remember much about them after the fact, except that she and Lydia were repeatedly in combat with various bandits, thieves and brigands belonging to a variety of gangs and tribes. It was the first time that she could remember having much exposure to bandits. She'd met and fought a few gangs in the recent past, and nearly been killed by one, but her actual understanding of what bandits were like, and what made them want to stay out in the cold, away from civilized towns had never been that great. As she and Lydia fought the various bandits, it became obvious that they were very different from town-dwellers, both in motives and personality.

For one thing, bandits didn't seem to have anyone to keep order in their camps. If one of them was in trouble and needed help, he'd call for the others, but there was no sense that they had any kind of organized society, and they certainly didn't have non-combatants in bandit camps.

That, of course, may have been part of the reason for the other observation that Katie had made. There were no children in the bandit camps. Those people clearly lived out there, in the middle of nowhere, and never went into town, or had any sort of decent roof over their heads, aside from tents and the occasional cave. Given the biting cold, and the fact that bandits came in both male and female, Katie would have expected to see at least some children in the camps. However, there was no sign of any young people out there at all. Whether bandits ever had children and why was a mystery to Katie, and she wasn't entirely certain that she wanted that mystery solved. The whole puzzle was surrounded by a dark, grisly feeling in her mind; as if something even more horrible than the normal, bloodthirsty ways of the bandits lay at the base of it.

On top of all that, most bandit camps were very small; consisting of no more than three to six bandits. Katie was pretty sure that was connected to their bloodthirsty methods and lack of any children. One couldn't build an army when one refused to accomidate family life.

The whole series of thoughts about the bandits only revealed themselves to Katie gradually, over the time that she spent fighting them, and even killing several of them, when they stubbornly refused to surrender. Katie never met a bandit who was actually willing to surrender to her, though she did meet several who pretended to. Even after weeks, however, she wasn't sure what to make of that. If nothing else, the bandits seemed to have a very unusual psychology.

On the whole, Katie found the missions that the companions sent her on to be very unpleasant and often hazardous, though they would have been far more hazardous without Lydia's help. She was an exceptional fighter; excellent at using her armor to limit the damage that she took, and jabbing with her sword at just the right spots to cause the most damage to an impenitent bandit. Katie had started to feel well-protected after surviving her last several fights, and especially the one with the dragon, but having someone like Lydia watching one's back was a whole different feeling.

Often, Katie would find some healing potions among the loot that the bandits had stolen; usually in the possession of the bandit leader, or a close second. Those were handy. Sometimes, she'd find alchemy ingredients that could be used to make potions of her own. Those were handy too. Fortunately, Lydia didn't seem to mind when Katie would set up her equipment in the middle of a vacant camp and start her potionmaking. Quite a number of potions for healing and restoration resulted from Katie's experiments in those camps, as well as some potent poisons. She learned a lot from the experimenting, though Lydia didn't try any of the potions herself, preferring to tend to her own wounds with the methods of first aid, with which she was familiar.

"You don't trust me?" Katie asked her one night, as she'd finished making three more light potions of healing, and sliding them into loops on one of the belts that she'd found in the bandit camps.

"It's not about whether I trust you or not." Lydia replied, however, "I don't want to become dependant on you. I'm not as good a healer as I could be, and I need the practice. Besides, I don't feel it would be safe to take too many of your potions until you can predict whether you'll be making a restorative potion or a poison."

Katie had remembered that particular interaction pretty well, because over the last week or so, she'd been using those words as motivation to continue experimenting with her potionmaking materials. She really and truly wanted to be skilled enough, that Lydia wouldn't have to keep looking at her as an amateur like that, and in spite of the fact that she'd recently slain a dragon, that was definitely the impression that she seemed to be making on the young housecarl.

The overall results of Katie's escapades as a member of the companions, however, was positive. By raiding the various bandit camps that she'd been told to deal with, she was able to pick up a little money; not just whatever the bandits had stolen, but a little extra from collecting and selling their books, equipment and used weapons and armor, which Katie took a minute to repair before selling it, to increase its value. Through a little careful planning, she was able to pocket quite a bit of money from her various missions, in addition to whatever rewards had been promised for the mission itself.

The problem was that working with the companions had some serious expenses as well; most notably potions and ingredients, as well as the occasional empty bottle. Alchemy was becoming more than just a hobby for Katie. She needed it to stay alive, because the moment she stopped finding ingredients, or turning them into healing potions, she knew that her injuries would start to catch up with her. It was, after all, the real world out there, and injuries; particularly cut tendons and muscles, didn't just go away on their own. If she wanted to keep herself in any shape for fighting, much less avoid staining her clothes with her own blood, potions were something that she absolutely needed to invest in, and they weren't an inexpensive investment. On the other hand, of course, she was getting plenty of practice with both her spear and her alchemy skills, and every day, she seemed to get better and better at both.

* * *

At last, Katie found herself back in Jorrvaskr, collapsing into a large, sturdy chair. Her hands were aching, and they weren't the only part of her that was. She'd nearly died on her last mission, and had spent over an hour brewing potions to heal herself. It had only partly worked, unfortunately, and she still had quite a number of nasty cuts and bruises all over her body, as well as a pretty bad scrape along the back of her left hand. It hadn't prevented her from making her healing potions, though she had kept hoping that it would go away when she drank the first three. Unfortunately, it was still there, and it still hurt. Even after all of those potions, only about half of her injuries had actually disappeared.

However, just as she was starting to relax just a bit, and hoping for a little time off from the constant missions; the endless struggle that membership in the companions seemed to involve, Farkas started advancing towards her, and she could tell that he, at least, thought it was important.

"Katie..." Farkas said, looking a little bewildered, but generally very impressed, "I've just heard from our last employer. You got the job done just in time. I'm impressed."

"I feel half dead." Katie just complained, leaning back in her chair as far as she could.

"Well, Skjor would like a word with you first." Farkas said, "I suppose you can die before that, though, if you feel like making him mad."

"It's not my job to make him feel good." Katie just replied, feeling a little upset by the request.

"Well, true enough." Farkas admitted, "Still, this might be something important. You never know. Then again, I suppose you could take another job, if you really want to make him mad."

"If I really want to kill myself, you mean." Katie corrected him, starting to smile a little, in spite of the pain, "Another mission right now would finish me off."

Farkas just shrugged at that point, starting to smile a little bit himself, and in a few moments, in spite of the pain that was still traveling through her whole body, Katie found herself limping over towards the place where Skjor was pacing back and forth.

Skjor was similar to Farkas in build, and in the type of armor that he was wearing, but he was an older man, balding on top of his head, and he had a few stripes of war paint on each cheek, just under his eyes. His hair was going gray, and unlike most of the companions, his expression was very grave. In fact, in the time that she'd been there, Katie had noticed that Skjor was the only one of the companions whose usual demeanor was similar to Lydia's.

Still, Katie had gradually gotten used to Lydia over the last couple weeks, so soon, she found herself facing Skjor, listening as he addressed her, though she was sure that she wasn't entirely prepared for what he was about to say.

"I thought I'd offer you a larger mission, with a partner." Skjor said, still frowning with every word that he spoke, "I'd normally wait longer, but you've been doing well with the minor jobs you've taken so far, and we don't get a chance like this often. If you want to rate higher with the companions than you have in the past, a job like this is the way to do it."

However, Katie was already looking off to one side, almost uncaringly.

"You're not interested?" Skjor asked, a bit disappointedly.

"Well, if the pay's good, I could take the mission, I guess..." Katie replied, "But I really don't care about being popular. I know what it's like, and aside from being a little fun, there's not much about it that's..."

"Never mind that, then." Skjor replied with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as he spoke, "This isn't like some regular mission. It's an honor quest. An informant told us where to find another Fragment of Wuuthrad, and we're honor-bound to seek it out, but if you don't care about honor, or about the wellbeing of the companions, I suppose that's no affair of yours."

"No, I really don't care about honor or glory," Katie admitted, however, "but if you need my help..."

"Then you'll take the job. Good." Skjor said, finally smiling just a little, "There's not much to be made off the job, but if you need them, we've got two potions each for you and your assistant; one for before the mission, and one for after. However, during the mission itself, I'm afraid you'll have to take care of your own problems, and try not to die."

As he spoke, Skjor unhooked two small bottles from their places on a belt that he was wearing and handed one to Katie, and the other to Lydia, who, it seemed, didn't think she needed it, so she put the potion away. Katie, however, was happy to have it. Moments after she'd downed the entire thing, her remaining injuries began to disappear without a trace, and her full strength returned just a few moments after that, though she was still a still a little tired from all the work she'd been doing recently. Still, she suspected that a drop or two of her first stamina potion would probably resolve that. It had recently become safe for a human being to imbibe, and was about halfway finished already, though a little still went a long way.

"So who's my partner?" Katie asked, her own smile starting to return as her injuries vanished, in spite of the difficult errand on which, she knew, she was about to be sent.

"Probably Farkas, if he accepts." Skjor replied quickly, no longer smiling, but not looking disappointed either, "He's a newcomer, like yourself, but he has more experience than you do, except perhaps with dragons. I'll talk to him about it within the next five minutes or so, and in ten or twelve, he'll probably have made his choice. Then you can talk to him about plans, supplies, departure time and so on. I wouldn't be surprised if he was ready to leave within half an hour."

Then, Skjor was off in another direction, and for a moment, Katie found herself scratching her head. She was starting to get the impression that Skjor had recently changed his mind about who to send on the mission, though she had no means of proving it, or even understanding why.

* * *

Just as Skjor had said, Katie, Lydia and Farkas had been able to leave Whiterun within half an hour together. They had no horse, and only limited supplies, but it was alright, because their destination; a sort of ancient tomb called Dustman's Cairn, was less than a couple hours' walk away from Whiterun itself, and although the path led over some minor hills, it was surprisingly well-trodden. Katie spent the brief journey talking with Farkas, and she learned a thing or two about his past and his family, most of whom, it seemed, were already dead. Mostly, she found him turning the conversation to her own past, and especially her history with dragons, beginning with the beast that had attacked her village. She didn't mind telling the story over again, though she wished she'd been able to learn more about him.

Lydia said almost nothing over the journey; just looking around as they walked, as though she were trying to spot something hidden behind every field, rock and bush.

However, at last, the three arrived at the cairn, and to Katie, who'd never seen one before; it looked very impressive. The outside of the cairn looked like a large, stone basin, dug into the ground, with thick, sturdy steps, made of stone, leading down into it. Leftover pieces of columns and empty chests and barrels were scattered here and there in the basin itself, but Katie could already see their real destination; a doorway along one side of the basin, which seemed to lead underground. Of course, Katie had been in caves before, and she more or less knew what to expect from them. The one thing she was worried about, oddly, was Farkas himself. It was strange, since he'd always treated her will, and shown a genuine interest in her life, but for some reason, Katie still felt that there was something about Farkas, and a number of the other companions, that sort of bothered her.

Then, Farkas had thrown open the doors, and Katie found herself being led further in, to begin her first big mission.

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. Lydia can't get into an argument with any NPCs in Skyrim.

2. Farkas actually reacts to Katie's past accomplishments. Again, this is not done in the game itself.

3. In Skyrim, health spontaneously regenerates, and it's just as stupid in Skyrim as in every other game it features in, aside from games about characters who -really do have- healing factors, like Wolverine from the X-men.

4. In spite of what Eorlund tells you about the companions having no leaders or commanders, quite a number of them act like it, including Skjor. In this story, he behaves less like a commander and more like he should, given the circumstances.

5. Lydia can't follow you on any missions that involve someone else accompanying you. No in-game reason is given for this. Lydia just vanishes into subspace until the mission is over, then reappears at her starting point when your other follower "leaves the party." Needless to say, this is illusion-shattering to the point of absurdity, so it's not present in this story.


	14. Chapter 14: Ambush

Chapter 14: Ambush

* * *

The inside of Dustman's Cairn was a wretched, foul-smelling place. It was filled with old, rotted linens, embalming tools, strangely-sculpted columns, and the bones and rotted flesh of the long-deceased, and most likely, of draugr. In fact, it reminded her a lot of Bleak Falls Barrow.

Still, Katie found herself wondering why the nords hadn't long ago given up on burying their dead in a manner that made them likely to come back as undead. After all, her own people...

Katie stopped, however, when she realized what she'd just been thinking. In spite of the fact that she was clearly a nord, and a great deal larger than most, in her heart of hearts, she still thought of herself as a citizen of Hammerfell. It might be a while, she realized sadly, before she could safely return there, if she ever could, but some part of herself still wanted to.

Still, in a place like that, surrounded by so many old bones, it was only a matter of time before her little band met up with the undead again. Lydia had her hand on the hilt of her sword before Katie even realized they were there, but it hadn't done any good. Katie was between her housecarl and the attacking undead, which meant that if Lydia had wanted to charge them, she'd have to maneuver around her thane first, and that would take a few moments, in a small hallway like that one. Farkas, however, had been in front of the company, and was on the attack at once.

In a flash, Farkas' sword was out and hacking away at the draugr that had advanced towards them, as Lydia did her best to keep her own sword out of the way, while she slid past her thane. The more that Katie thought about it, however, the more sensible the move seemed. Lydia and Farkas, after all, were both armed with short-range weapons, while Katie had a spear. If she was careful not to hit the others, she really could assist them best from behind.

Farkas had managed to deliver a glancing blow to the first draugr that had attempted to force its way through the door, but had taken a nasty counter-attack in return. He'd just delivered one more strike to the draugr; a cleaner one, when Lydia finally caught up to him and swung her own sword at it. Lydia's swing veered off course in mid-air, however, only just managing to glance off the creature's hide. However, when Katie drove her spear towards the thing's head a moment later, the attack was much cleaner. The monster's head crumpled like a hollow, aluminum horseshoe, and that small victory gave them just a few seconds to regroup and duck to either side of the hallway as a blast of freezing cold shot out of the very same doorway that the draugr had just emerged from.

Lydia's expression changed the moment that the cold blast made its appearance. At once, she'd started to look very worried. It was, Katie reasoned, the first sign of magic that they'd seen in that dungeon, which might have made a difference. Still, in a moment, when the frost stopped spraying in their direction, both Lydia and Farkas rushed through the door, with Katie in pursuit behind them, but before she could get to the door itself, both of them rushed back through again in the direction of the dungeon entrance, and with only a moment to think it over, Katie followed them.

"Did you get the mage?" Katie asked as she fell quickly behind the other two, forcing Lydia to slow down, in order to give the dragonslayer the chance to catch up with her.

"The draugr mage went down in one swipe. They're not too tough," Lydia explained, "but there's four more in there; four of the big ones."

"Could you take any down by yourself if you had to?" Katie asked hopefully, but Lydia, it seemed, hadn't quite been that prepared.

"One or two, maybe, without any serious injuries." Lydia replied quickly, starting to catch her breath, "I can't handle them all on my own, though."

Soon, the three had made it all the way back to the entrance, and they could hear the sounds of clanking armor and clattering weapons as the enemy advanced towards them through the hallways of the cairn. For a moment, Katie turned to face Farkas, who must have been in that kind of situation quite a number of times before.

"Will they follow us outside?"

"Maybe. Probably." Farkas responded dishearteningly, "Still, if we do manage to get them out there, we'll have more room to move around."

"So will they." Katie anticipated aloud, "If they're all stuck in a tight space like this, I can..."

However, just as those words passed Katie's lips, the first of the draugrs turned a corner, looking much tougher than any of the ones that Katie had fought in the past, though it did have a cut in one of its shoulders. Quickly using the length of her spear to its best advantage, Katie jabbed out at the enemy the moment it turned the corner, smacking it once across its injured shoulder before it could even get close to the three of them, and in just another moment, it was close enough to strike, and all three lashed out as another turned the corner, followed by two more, beginning to come into sight behind it.

The first draugr buckled under Lydia and Farkas' combined assault before it could even launch a single attack, which gave Katie the chance to strike the first of the three that was advancing from behind it. However, while Lydia was able to dig into it with her blade, it ducked out of the way of Farkas' swing, and counter-attacked. Farkas attempted to dodge the monster's strike, and it was a valiant effort, but the creature was just too fast, and Katie could see that he was already badly injured, and weakening, as two more draugrs advanced from behind.

One again, Katie tried to skewer the Draugr, but it was a lot faster than her, and had been consistently avoiding some of the damage from her spear-jabs, every time she'd tried to hit it. It was weakening, but still on its feet, and by that point, the other two draugrs had reached their position.

Lydia might have finished off the first of the three draugrs right then and there, but instead, she drove her weapon into one of the new arrivals, seeming to have taken Katie's advice about trying to defeat some by herself, or perhaps she simply expected Farkas to finish the first one off with his next attack. In any case, it didn't work, as Farkas' second swing went as wide as his last one had; his problems only made worse by his injuries. Katie could see that they were in trouble.

Katie did manage to finally demolish that first draugr with one more jab from her spear, but the others were already swinging their own weapons, and their blades were skillfully-wielded. They must, she thought, have been mighty warriors in life.

One of the two remaining draugr dug into Katie's side with a blow like an ox, knocking her into the wall, while the other seemed to be focusing its attentions on fending off Lydia, who took some damage of her own in its next assault. Still, she was the only one there whose skill seemed comparable to those particular draugr, and her friends were fading fast. She and Farkas continued their attack, and this time, the Companion's swing actually managed to hit its mark, but in the end, even with Katie's own next jab factored in, only one of the remaining Draugrs fell, and Katie could tell that one more good strike from that thing would finish either her -or- Farkas.

Fortunately, it's next attack wasn't nearly as good as its last one had been. The draugr's sword glanced off one of the shoulders of Farkas' armor, and soon, he'd cut into its rotted, undead flesh much deeper. Before it could retaliate, Lydia had lopped its head off from behind.

Katie collapsed immediately to the ground, as soon as the battle was over. She ached all over from that last attack. Apart from her fight with the dragon, in fact, she couldn't remember having ever faced something quite so strong before. Even Lydia seemed to have suffered some injuries from the battle. However, it wasn't until they'd all had the chance to catch their breath, and realize just how bad their injuries had gotten, that Lydia bothered to speak to them.

"We have to go back. Now."

"What?!" Farkas asked, sitting up in alarm, though the very act seemed to cause spasms of agony all through his body, "We can't go back! We have to find the... the..."

"I'm not a member of the Companions." Lydia explained, however, interrupting him, "I'm only here because I've decided to stay by Katie's side and protect her on these missions. If I hadn't been here, what do you think would have happened just now?"

"I would have won out eventually..." Farkas insisted stubbornly, but Lydia just scoffed.

"You would have suffered very badly, and died very quickly." Lydia corrected him, "If, by some miracle, you survived, your partner would die in the attempt, and in either case, you wouldn't have the fragment you're looking for."

In another moment, Lydia had folded her arms, and was looking very cross, but very contemplative when she continued.

"This is one of the most badly-haunted cairns I've ever seen. These warriors must have been uncommonly strong in life, and on top of all that, I wonder what's been done to this place recently, which has upset them so much. Is there anything about this fragment of Wuuthrad that might cause something like this?"

Farkas still looked very stubborn, and very upset, but he shook his head in reply.

"Then it must have been something else." Lydia remarked, as she seemed to still be pondering the recent fight, "I've heard that tombs frequently experience hauntings when living people try to take up residence there; bandits and such. That might be the reason. If so, I suspect they've either been driven off or are all dead by now."

Katie, however, was having a hard time thinking straight, probably due to a combination of blood loss and the throbbing pain in her sides and arms, not to mention her head, so after a moment, she spoke to Lydia again directly.

"Lydia," she said, "You know first aid. Until we can find some more ingredients for healing potions, you're in charge of medical care. Please... Please treat us properly..."

That time, Lydia hesitated briefly after she'd heard the order, as if she didn't fully understand what she'd just been asked to do, but it only took her a moment to get over it, and respond, "Yes, Katie."

Soon, Lydia had stepped past Katie and Farkas, leaving by the same door that they'd all entered by. Still, Katie had a feeling that their mission had just ended in failure.

* * *

Irileth wasn't sure why she'd decided to make the journey out to Bleak Falls Barrow. Even as the wind and snow howled around her, and she tried to remind herself of Katie's strange success over the dragon, and how much that had bothered her, she still didn't think any of that was a good enough reason for what she'd done; leaving her post in Whiterun unmanned, and walking, on foot, all the way to the mountainside just west of Riverwood. Was it all just because of her curiosity? Was that enough reason for abandoning her post? Was that enough reason for breaking her vows in a way she'd never done before?

No, she'd soon realized. It wasn't mere curiosity. Something had genuinely gone wrong. She was sure of it. Her whole life, Irileth had lived in a world where training and skill in combat made victors of a specific type of person, and not only was Katie completely different, but there was something about her; something that felt as if she stood in stark opposition to everything else that Irileth had ever experienced; everything she'd ever known. It felt, in a sense, like an evil even worse than black sorcery; even worse than the daedra themselves.

At last, Irileth had arrived at the entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow. Two bandits had been scouting the place out, and mistood her for merchant. However, she dispatched one with ease, and drove the second over a cliff-face. It was an easy job for her. After all, she'd been chosen to guard the Jarl of Whiterun himself. As she neared the entrance to the barrow and pushed open the large, metal doors, Irileth didn't feel even the slightest fear of what awaited her within, which, she thought for just a moment, was a bit odd. After all, crypts and barrows often contained powerful undead, and other creatures able and eager to kill the unwary. She had no fear of those things, because she'd faced them before. They were normal, to her. Yet, Katie of Hammerfell wasn't?

The question faded from Irileth's mind at almost the very moment it was formed, and no new questions rose to replace it. Still, she didn't feel strange about that, at least. As she cut her way through a couple of unskilled draugr, Irileth knew that for whatever reason, she -wanted- to continue on into the barrow. Why she wanted it, she couldn't say, but she was fine with that, because, after all, it was normal.

* * *

As it had turned out, Lydia had managed to find a supply of fresh water very nearby, and using Katie's remaining bottles, had taken some back to her two injured companions, treating and wrapping their wounds thoroughly before she paid any attention to her own. However, Lydia seemed surprised by something, when she went to bandage up Farkas.

"Your wounds aren't as bad as you lead us to believe." she said as she finished washing the wound and tore up a piece of cloth she'd found, to use for a bandage.

"I wasn't much use in that fight anyway." Farkas admitted ruefully, "Still, this is the kind of place I've longed to visit; a real test of my skill, and a chance to continue improving. I've already learned a lot from some of the moves those draugr used."

"Where I work, if you really want to test yourself against a strong enemy, you spar with someone." Lydia just said in reply, "That way, you can learn without the risk of dying horribly."

"Where I used to work, you didn't die if you lost out. You just didn't get paid as much, if at all." Katie suggested, which caused the heads of both warriors to turn in her direction with puzzled looks on their faces.

It was only then that Katie remembered that, in spite of her military victories, she wasn't really a fighter, and both of them were. She'd long since gotten over the feelings of inferiority that such a realization might once have inspired in her, but at the same time, she knew that her comment hadn't exactly been relevant either.

"We all wish we could have second chances, Katie," Lydia replied, looking, for some reason, very closely into the eyes of the man she was bandaging, as if searching hard for something, "but in combat, there's always the risk of dying, isn't there, Farkas?"

For some reason, Farkas was starting to look a little suspicious as he gazed back at Lydia. However, he replied "Yes. Of course. Every warrior knows he could die at any moment."

"Warriors, in fact, can be identified by their willingness to accept that reality, and continue on in spite of it." Lydia continued, though her gaze still never wavered from Farkas' eyes as she spoke, "You'll need to know this, Katie, because you'll need to be a warrior one day."

Katie just smiled and nodded, appreciating the help, though she didn't like being forced down that path any more than she had in the past. However, Farkas was starting to look more and more skittish as Lydia spoke, and her last words seemed to have actually upset him.

"However effective or ineffective the Companions may be in battle, Katie, we can at least comfort ourselves with one thought; there's no doubt that they're warriors."

"You two go back to Whiterun." Farkas said angrily as he started back down the tunnel, "Now."

"Wait!" Katie exclaimed, "What if more of those draugr show up?"

"I'll risk it," Farkas almost snarled, turning around to scowl at Katie and Lydia, "but I can't fight with my full power while you two are hanging around. Get back to Whiterun. That's an order."

However, by that point, Katie had begun to remember just what the companions were all about, and although she'd originally wanted to learn how to follow orders, she had a feeling that learning when -not- to follow orders would be part of the job.

"I'll go back if I think it's prudent." Katie said, starting to get a little angry herself, "but you don't give me orders. We're partners on this mission, remember? Besides, the companions don't get to give each other orders anyway, do they?"

Farkas just looked angrier than ever, but he seemed to realize that Katie was right, and he couldn't really order her to leave.

"Fine, then." he just replied, "If you think you'll survive this place, you go ahead and follow me, but if you think you'll die, and if you think I will too, then go ahead and run while you can. I've got a fragment to find."

Katie wasn't sure what to make of it all as Farkas continued on down the tunnel and out of sight. As far as she could tell, he was just offended by something that Lydia had said. Still, that was no reason for him to risk his life in the tunnels that they'd all barely just escaped from. In a way, Katie felt that the worst thing about that situation was just how little she understood about it. She had no way of knowing what Farkas was thinking, and no real way of figuring out what was going through Lydia's...

Katie almost felt like slapping herself across the face the moment that thought passed through her head. She didn't exactly feel right about forcing Lydia to reveal things that she didn't want to reveal, but if push came to shove, at any point, she could just ask her housecarl what she was thinking about, and Lydia, she knew, wouldn't refuse to tell her.

"Lydia..." Katie said quickly, "If you don't want to tell me what's been going through your mind, that's fine, but otherwise, I'd really like to know what's going on. Why would he head off like that? Why doesn't he care about the danger?"

Lydia began to explain herself just a moment later, just as Katie had known she would. Still, she didn't look happy as she spoke.

"I don't know what that man is thinking, or why he's not afraid," Lydia said with a shake of her head, "but this much I can tell you; he's not afraid of death, and he never has been. In fact, he's more concerned that one of us might die than he is for his own life. If he's ever faced the fear of death, he's certainly not doing it now."

Katie just nodded as she finally began to understood why Farkas had been so upset. All of Lydia's words about how the companions had come to grips with their fears must have been like a knife through his pride. It was sad, although she wasn't sure what to do about it. She could probably spend time trying to mix up some potions, since Lydia had found a few herbs while she was outside, but she wasn't sure how she was supposed to help Farkas, and she highly suspected that she wouldn't be in time to save him from his own foolishness.

* * *

Katie knew that she couldn't help Farkas unless she had some very good potions that she could use to heal herself, and perhaps, to help restore him as well, if he survived. Still, after nearly half an hour of wrestling with her basic mortar, she'd only managed to produce three good healing potions, one exceptionally-good one, and a few potions of minor healing. It wasn't what she'd been hoping for, but, she decided, it would have to do, and she quickly downed all the minor healing potions, pocketing the rest. Her injuries, already washed and bandaged by Lydia, began to vanish again as she drank the mixtures. She wasn't fully healed, of course, but then, she'd been like that for a while; taking on missions while halfway injured, and only just barely able to keep up. As long as she didn't have to fight any more crowds of very skilled undead, she reasoned, she could survive one more trip into the cairn.

"You're certain you want to do this?" Lydia asked one last time, as Katie got slowly to her feet, after having put away all her alchemy things.

"Yeah..." Katie replied. Whatever problems the Companions had with following orders, she had a feeling that even they would have frowned on just abandoning a fellow Companion to his own foolishness. Besides, she wasn't sure she would have been able to forgive herself if she'd just left the cairn without knowing what had happened to Farkas.

Soon, Katie was leading the way back into the cairn and down the tunnels, past the place where they'd been attacked before, through a doorway, and down the hallway beyond, which turned left just shortly after she reached it. Before long, Katie had found herself in a larger, more open chamber, and there, much to her surprise, was Farkas, sitting on the ground, as though taking a break, and stretching his left arm as she entered. Katie was very surprised to see him, but relieved as well.

"I was sure I'd find you dead." Katie said, breathing just a bit harder than normal in surprise.

"I told you; don't worry about me." Farkas replied, stretching his other arm, "I'll be alright. You clearly weren't ready for this job, though. I'm sorry about putting you in danger."

"I didn't take this job because I needed more comfort." Katie replied a bit unhappily, however, "Besides, I'm pretty sure Skjor meant for both of us to explore this place together, whether we all made it out alive or not."

Farkas just nodded in reply to that, with a very grim look on his face. He still showed no signs of getting back to his feet, however, so before long, Katie began her exploration of the surrounding area. There were a few potion ingredients, and even a couple of really well-done healing potions, which she made sure to take with her, just in case. However, as she removed one of the potions from a shelf inside one recess in the cave, the glint of metal caught her eye from behind it.

Her curiosity still growing, Katie reached behind the place where the potion had been, into a sort of recess in the wall, and in a second, her had had come down on something smooth and metallic, though she couldn't see what it was. In a moment, however, she felt the metal object give just a little, and a massive clanging noise rang out from behind her.

In a flash, Katie had spun around to face the source of the noise; a massive, metal gate had just come down out of the ceiling, covering the entire section of the cavern that she'd been exploring. Lydia and Farkas were still outside, but the gate looked pretty sturdy; a lot more than the jail cell door she'd busted open not too long ago.

For a moment, Katie tried to open the gate by fiddling with the metal object again, but as with so many traps for the curious, it seemed that it didn't deactivate by the same switch. By the time Katie realized that, more noises were coming from beyond the gate, and it wasn't just Lydia and Farkas reacting to her sudden imprisonment.

"It didn't work, did it?" Lydia asked Katie through the thick, metal bars of the gate, sizing up the situation quickly, and getting a shake of Katie's head in response. However, before Farkas could even reach the gate, the clattering of footsteps began echoing from nearby, and suddenly, five large, strong-looking men, weilding very well-polished weapons and dressed in various types of armor had begun to advance on Farkas and Lydia. Katie was starting to feel very confused, but then she realized that the trap she'd triggered must have also been some kind of signal, and that those five men must have been hoping to trap her, or perhaps Lydia or Farkas; probably Farkas, since he'd been with the Companions longest.

In addition, Katie could hear the men talking to each other. They were speaking in slightly hushed voices, but as even the slightest noise in that cavern was magnified by the echos in that place, there wasn't much point to doing so.

"Is he one of them?"

"What about her? Could she be one?"

"That one in the cell can't be one, can she? Looks like a merchant to me."

"Merchants don't use spears. Watch out for her, all the same."

"I don't know the man by name, but I've seen him before. If he ain't one of them, he's helping 'em. Best kill him now, just to get him out of the way."

"What about the woman?"

"Let's not take chances; not even with the big one in the cell. For all we know, they might all be infected."

In a flash, the men began drawing their weapons, and Lydia, in response, drew hers, but Farkas held up one hand, signaling her not to attack yet. For a moment, Lydia didn't seem sure what to do in response to that silent command, but when she turned just a little to glance at Katie, the thane gave her a brief nod. Yes; she was to do what Farkas wanted; at least for the time being.

"I've seen your type before." Farkas observed aloud to the men as he took one step towards them, "Believe me, you're not the only group who's been sent to try to kill us, but if you attack me now, it's not going to help anyone. You'll just get yourselves killed, and it'll inconvenience me too. Please turn around and go home right now. I have undead to fight here. I don't need your blood on my hands for today."

However, one of the thugs immediately swung his sword at Farkas, and soon, the others were swinging their weapons as well, doing their best to surround him and get some space to hit him.

"Say the word." Lydia suggested to Farkas as one after another, the weapons drove into his flesh, and he must have heard her, but he didn't give her any signal to attack. In no time at all, his whole body was covered in horrible injuries; shattering bruises and deep cuts all over. Blood flowed freely, to the point where Katie felt tears starting to come to her eyes, and could hardly believe that Farkas was even still standing. However, he still gave no sign that he wanted any help, and in only another moment, it became clear why. Farkas wasn't losing. He was winning.

At last, one large warhammer was headed straight for his skull, when in a flash, he reached up with one arm, seizing the head of the weapon in one hand, and holding it tightly. The thug struggled to wrench it back out of the Companion's grasp, but his grip was like iron, even after all of that blood loss, and Katie could see that his muscles, perforated though they'd become, seemed to almost be pulsing, as if with some kind of occult energy.

In a second, his arms began to grow visibly large, his legs longer, and his hands much larger as well. Thick hair began to sprout from every visible point on his body, and his entire head lengthened and narrowed along the nose, transforming into a long snout, not unlike a rat, or a wolf. That was when Katie heard one word escape from Lydia's lips; spoken in a tone as cold as death itself.

"Metamorph."

Still, Farkas continued to grow larger, even after his transformation into a wolf-man had completed, until he stood a head higher than any of his attackers; a ferocious, hairy beast with huge teeth and claws, and completely healed of all his injuries.

The thugs, it seemed, had been shocked by the sudden transformation, at first, and had paused in their attack, but with Farkas' alternate form fully revealed, they hurried to compose themselves and began the attack again in earnest; three striking out at him from behind.

However, there was simply no chance for them anymore. The wolf-man's legs shot out behind him and whipped from one side to the other, knocking all three of his attackers away, and giving him the chance to pounce on the other two. In seconds, both had been clawed open in a shower of blood.

Katie almost screamed when she saw that, but held in just enough of the scream that it came out as only a small peep. However, she really did scream just a moment later, when the wolf-man rushed over to the gate that had been keeping her imprisoned, and began to pull at the bars.

Through it all, Lydia had just been staring; her sword in one hand, but not able to move it. For a soldier like her, coming face to face with a real metamorph must have been a shock, of course, but the expression on Lydia's face didn't look like shock alone.

At last, with a creaking, groaning noise, the wolf-man pulled the gate towards himself, causing it to rise just a little, and the bars that he was holding came off in his hands just a moment after that. Katie fully expected him to attack her at that point.

However, instead, the wolf-man turned back around to face the three remaining thugs, who were getting back up, and one of whom was trying to pick up his friend's fallen sword with his other hand, perhaps in the hope of using two weapons at once. Farkas, however, hurled one of his metal bars all the way across the room a moment later, where it impaled the man before he could finish his work.

One of the remaining men seemed to realize how badly they were outclassed, and held up his shield in the hopes of deflecting any oncoming attacks as he advanced, but Farkas had leapt right over his head, a moment later, clawing the weapon from his hand, and digging his fangs into the man's neck the moment he was on the ground again. That final act seemed to have driven the last of the thugs mad, because he charge the wolf-man with a shriek. Before he was within five paces of his enemy, however, his weapon was squeezed effortlessly from his grasp, and his neck had been crushed with the ferocity of a true monster.

It was only at that point, that the wolf-man began to change again; his size diminishing, and his fur starting to fade away. The last thing to turn back to normal was his head, which resumed a human appearance as he collapsed to the floor. His injuries, fortunately, hadn't returned when he'd turned back into his human form, but he looked very much as though the effort of fighting in that form had worn him out. Neither Lydia nor Katie dared to say a word, even as the latter squeezed herself through the space left by the removed bars. However, after a few seconds, Farkas turned back to face them again, looking just a little ashamed of himself. It was only then that he spoke.

"I guess I've got some explaining to do, don't I?"

* * *

Beyond the mods addendum; Things you can't do in-game

1. You can't discuss battle strategy with your followers during a break in the fighting.

2. Irileth doesn't go to Bleak Falls Barrow, or indeed, take any issue with your slaying of the dragon.

3. You can't send followers to go harvest potion ingredients, or, in fact, do any real work if you send them away.

4. The trap is activated by a large, conspicuous-looking lever in the game, not a switch that could easily be mistaken for treasure, as here.

5. Farkas does a lot of moves in wolf form that the werewolves in the game can't do, such as attacking enemies behind himself with his legs, squeezing the weapon from someone's hand, and wrenching bars out of a gate.

6. Farkas basically takes the killing of several men in stride in the game, and even seems perfectly calm about having just turned into a werewolf.


End file.
